AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Chapter One
LETTIE
The fall semester starts in a few days, so Dane and I are back home in eastern Kentucky to see our families.
Last night, his parents had a “Roast the Pig” party on Dane’s farm, but it was really a campaign event for Dane’s dad. The whole town was there, also Dane’s new head basketball coach and his staff. People in eastern Kentucky live and breathe Stallion basketball, so they were eating this up.
Dane and I searched and hunted for my karaoke machine in Granny and Paps' shed, before the big event. When we finally stumbled across it, we dusted it off, then joked and sang for hours. Dane said, “If we’re still… you know, after my NBA career, we can be a country duo.” I remember shrugging my shoulders as if I agreed, but what does ‘you know’ mean?
If we’re still best friends? If we’re… what?
So, when the song from the best movie ever made, Toy Story starts playing in the early morning hours, I know it’s him.
The music continues as I stretch to reach my phone that has fallen on the floor. Finally, my fingers grab hold, and my good morning text is waiting for me.
Dane: Morning. Just ran five miles. Riding or volleyball?
Me: Morning, bestie. Both.
Dane: I’ll meet you at the barn in an hour to watch you train.
I tap on his text with the thumbs up emoji and swing my feet over the side of the bed.
“Granny? You home?” I ask, walking out of my small bedroom and into the living room.
“In here, Lil Bit,” she answers from the kitchen. “Are you hungry?”
“Not really, I’ll just eat a banana.” I wrap my arms around her and thank my lucky stars she took me in.
She furls her lips and rolls her eyes. “You can have a banana when you’re at college. How about some French toast with the strawberries you all picked yesterday.”
“Yum. There’s this place right off campus that Dane and I go to, and they have the second-best French toast in the world and every time we eat there, it makes me think of home. Love you.” I kiss her cheek, then reach into the cabinet for the powdered sugar and maple syrup.
She motions for me to get the basket of strawberries. “Clean and slice.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
Granny plates the French toast on her cornflower blue and white Corningware. I fan the strawberries out like I’ve seen Dane’s mom do for brunches. “Fancy,” Granny says, grinning. “The Greathouses have been good to you. I can’t thank them enough.”
“You and Paps are pretty good to Dane too. It’s because of ya’ll that he knows how to grill and mow a lawn. And he always tells me that the food is better here.”
Granny and I sit at the table. “Home grown is always better than out of the can.”
I agree as I use my fork to push through my French toast and when it hits my tongue, I hum—it’s sweet and warm, and full of memories.
“Looking good, Lettie,” Dane calls out.
Diamond Mine and I finished fifteen minutes of jumps in a serpentine or snake-like configuration. We walk to the fence where Dane has one foot resting on the second slat of the fence. God, he is one handsome man.
His arms spread across the fence, and he reaches out, touching Diamond Mine’s neck.
“I got a little off balance and needed to ride the inside, but we’re just taking it easy today.” Blowing out a deep breath, I admit my fears. “I’m not good enough to make the Olympics. How am I going to get there? If I don’t make it this year, I’ll never be able to check off the box.”
“One competition at a time. Damn, Lettie, you’re competing on the Grand Prix circuit. Remember when you thought you couldn’t handle this level? Well, you have. Just keep working on what you can do to be better and what Diamond Mine can do.” He pats my knee and squeezes. “Plus, this new trainer will help you fix all of these little things that are worrying you.”
Dane has enough confidence in me for the both of us. Without him, I don’t know where I would be or more importantly who I would be. Would I be a professional show jumper on the grand prix circuit? The answer is one hundred percent no. It’s a scary thought that you don’t know who you are if it wasn’t for a certain person. We’ve been best friends since we lost our front teeth.
The horse and I do work the course a few more times, then Dane follows us to the barn. He takes the gear off Diamond Mine, and we give him a bath before putting him in his stall with a fresh bucket of water.
