" Why hello, welcome! You guys must be Catherine and Ally." an unfamiliar voice says.
"Yes we are, are you Martha?." Catherine responds.
" Yep, born and raised on this ranch, my mom started the business 45 years ago but when she passed i inherited it and started training service horses."
" I'm really sorry to here that, thanks again for having us on such short notice."
" No problem, business has been kind of slow lately so i'm glad that you called."
" Ally here is looking for a guide animal. I saw on your website that you have five at the moment, is that correct?"
" Yes it is, follow me over to the barn where we keep our service horses."
They keep on talking but i kind of zone out after that.
As soon as we got out of the car the girl who Catherine is talking to right now had come over to welcome us and hadn't stopped talking since.
Seriously, she's talking waaayyy to much. It's starting to get annoying. Okay, not starting to, it is annoying, really really annoying.
I mean, how much can one person talk about in 5 minutes, cause from what i hear, it's a new topic every 30 seconds.
They will go from talking about family to talking about business to talking about makeup brands in a minute.
Oh well, i can put up with a bunch of talking because i'm getting a mini horse out of it, but next time i go somewhere i'm bringing earplugs just in case. Better safe then sorry.
Finally after what seems like forever we get to the barn, i found that out the hard way, meaning i ran into the wall. I should probably start using my cane instead of just dragging it behind me but when i use it it makes me feel like an old lady.
" You okay Ally?" Martha asks
"I'm fine."
" Well then come on into the barn of cuteness."
The barn of cuteness?
Seriously?
" Catherine, follow me and Ally just put your hand on the wall and walk forward."
I take a few steps forward and then the wall is replaced by empty space.
" Ally, turn right and you'll be in the barn, your at the door.
The barn.
My home away from home.
My happy place.
The place with millions of memories, both good and bad.
The Place i haven't been in months.
Even though it's not the barn that i rode in it still smells like horses.
The best smell in the world, well maybe not to some people.
Just being in a barn brings back a bunch of memories.
~~~~~~
"Mommy! Mommy!", five year old me screams," Look at all the horsies!"
" Yes sweetie, there are a lot of horses"
I run all around the barn looking at the horses and doing my happy dance, this was the first time that i'd been around horses besides going to horse shows.
I knew from the moment that i first saw them that i wanted to be around them for the rest of my life and to compete like in the shows that i watched.
My parents weren't really horse people, but my mom rode for a little bit when she was younger and she knew ever since my first word that i was born to be a horse person.
I say from my first word because i was watching mickey mouse in the living room and there was a horse so when i saw it i screamed,"Horsey." My first word.
"Mommy, look at this one! Can we get it?"
" No honey," she says with a chuckle," you haven't even ridden yet."
" But come look at it."
" Okay, i'll come over there. "
She started walking over to where i was.
" Are you sure we can't get it? like really really really sure or just sure?"
" Listen Ally, we can't have a horse right now, but how about if you still love horses when you are eight, i'll get you one. Okay?"
" Yay!"
My mom took my hand and looked at the horse, then she read her nameplate.
Aspen.
~~~~~
That was the first time that i met Aspen, my mom kept her word and for my eighth birthday, Aspen was my surprise.
The best surprise ever.
I wonder how she is doing now.=
" Hello? Earth to Ally" Catherine calls.
"Yea?" I say snapping back to reality.
" You just kind of spaced out."
" Oh, sorry." I respond.
" No need to be sorry, Martha was just asking you if you want to meet the horses now."
" Of course i do, is that even a question?"
Catherine and Martha laugh.
" Well okay then, Let's start at the front of the barn and work our way towards the back."
" Sounds good." I say
" Well first we have Nellie, a 12 year old Apaloosa mare who is probably the sweetest little horse you'll ever meet. Ally, come over here and pet her."
" Okay" I tell her.
I reach down to pet her and i have to admit, she is so soft and fluffy that the only way i know she's real is because i hear her breathing.
" She's really soft." I say.
" Do you like her?" Catherine asks.
" I do, but i don't really feel like i have a connection with her, if you get what i'm saying."
" Totally", Martha responds even though i wasn't asking her," you have to have a connection with the horse."
" I understand." Catherine says.
" Well next we have Bart, a 7 year old brown gelding. He is one of the newer horses here."
I hear a stall door opening and then I feel something come up to me, something small. Maybe a dog or even a cat.
" Here he is."
So the something was Bart, he must be really small. Small enough for me to consider him being a cat.
" Bart is the smallest Mini here, but he has a big personality."
He is really sweet too, but i still don't feel a connection.
" I like him but-"
" You don't feel a connection." Martha finishes for me.
" Exactly."
She puts Bart away and gets out another mini.
" This is Bear, he's a 16 year old buckskin gelding."
" Bear?" Catherine asks.
" Short for teddy bear, not an actual bear. He wouldn't hurt a fly. Well maybe a fly, but you get the idea."
" Oh" Catherine says.
He sniffs my hand like he thinks i have have treats but he quickly finds something more important. Real food. I can tell because i hear Martha telling him to stop eating.
" Still nothing?" Catherine asks.
I shake my head.
After five minutes Martha had finally gotten bear away from his beloved food and back into his stall.
I start to walk forward and stop at the last stall, i reach my hand over the door and feel a mini come up to me a sniff my fingers, then lick them. I giggle.
" Who's this?" I ask Martha
" That is Barnaby, he came to us 7 months ago and is a really fast learner. We were going to look at him last but i see that you found you own way to him."
" Yea, is he for sale or is it still too early?"
" He's for sale, like i said, he's a really fast learner. I think he likes you."
I go to pet him and he nods his head.
Catherine chuckles, " he agrees."
" Can we get him?" I ask Catherine.
" Of course," she responds," You guys seem to get along well."
Barnaby nods his head.
" Then it's settled." Martha says.
A/N
Sorry that i haven't updated in a few days but i should have another chapter for Just like Fire up Tomorrow.
I just wanted to say that Barnaby is the inspiration for this book.
A few weeks ago I was facetiming my friend and trying to think of ideas for Just like Fire, when i saw the name Barnaby on a website that i was reading so i came up with the idea of of a guide mini named Barnaby but the idea didn't really fit Just like Fire.
So i started thinking of other ideas but they all led back to Barnaby and a blind girl whose name had not yet been decided and then the ideas made more ideas and then the ideas turned into a story.
Barnaby