Chapter Two     Cute didn't even begin to describe the five men sitting there. Gorgeous, exotic and beautiful were just the first few adjectives that crossed my mind.  I knew if I thought long and hard enough I could come up with more, but I pushed the thought out of my mind and put on the brightest smile I could manage. "Hello, welcome to the Triple C. My name is Cassie," I greeted. "Hi Cassie. I'm Brian, this is my cousin Kevin, and our friends Nick, AJ and Howie." "Has everything been to your liking?" I asked, as I mentally put each name to the face that it belonged to. Brian had light brown hair and a square jaw line. Kevin had striking green eyes and long dark brown almost black hair that reached his shoulders. Nick was blond haired and blue eyed. AJ and Howie both had dark hair and brown eyes, but their hairstyles were different and AJ had tattoos. I had a good memory and it served me well when dealing with as many as thirty guests a day. "Everything has been great," AJ answered cheerfully. "If there's anything that I can help you with just let me know," I said before moving to the kitchen, where I planned to wring Carly's neck. "I see you've met our new arrivals," Callie said as she stepped back so I could enter. "Uh-huh," I muttered as I scanned the room. "If you're looking for Carly, she was called out about five minutes ago. Something about a steer with a gash on his leg," she said with a smirk.   I grumbled under my breath and Callie laughed. "I guess she gave you the same 'they're so cute' speech this morning, huh?"   "I'll give her a 'cute' speech! The least she could've done was give us some real warning," I muttered. "You should've seen the look on your face. It was as if you were frozen when you first laid eyes on them," she said with a giggle.   I shook my head and rolled my eyes before beginning to load the dishwasher. Frieda, Dalton's mother entered the kitchen through the back door and began the preparations for lunch and her niece, Lora headed for the back stairwell to begin cleaning the guest rooms. The day had officially started.                                                                      ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~    After breakfast was cleared away, Callie and I walked into the main sitting room to give our guests a run down on what was available for them to do during the day. The room was crowded with guests and they were seated on every available surface. The sitting room was decorated in soft tans, blues and greens, giving the room a very earthy feeling.   "Good morning everyone," I said, bringing everyone's attention to the front of the room. "Today, we have a guided ride going into the hills at ten. It'll take you out to the farthest point of the property where you will stop and eat a packed lunch by a stream. Feel free to wear a bathing suit under your clothes if you would like to take a dip. There is also a nature hike being planned for two this afternoon. For those of you who don't have a lot of experience in riding, lessons will begin in the center coral at one. The pool and basketball courts are open and of course, if any of you would like to ride out with the hands, let me know and I'll make sure you get where you want to go. Callie is going to get you all signed up and take lunch orders for the guided ride so we can make sure that preparations are complete before you leave. If you need anything, don't hesitate to ask."   As I walked out of the room, Callie was telling them what was on today's menu, signing the guests up for the different activities and answering questions about the local attractions. A moment after I had entered the kitchen, Callie came in and handed Frieda the lunch orders. "Are you guiding the hike or the ride?" Callie asked. "I was hoping to do the ride if that's alright. I haven't been able to find the time to exercise Mayhem in the last three days," I said, leaving the decision up to her. "I'll take the hike then," she said as she started a few of the employees on setting up the dinning room for lunch. "Can you cover the front desk for me? I need to make sure our store of feed isn't too low and I need to check on the mounts we'll use this morning," I asked Callie. She nodded her agreement and then I added, "If Carly gets back, put her out front." With a distracted wave Callie sent me on my way.   As I stepped out the backdoor onto the porch, I took a deep breath and let it out slowly. The rich smells of the dewy grass, the nearby barn and the lingering smell of coffee filled my lungs and made me smile. Those were the scents of home. Large oak trees with full green leaves lined the drive and followed the white fence out to the road providing lots of shade.        I walked across the yard to the feed shed and quickly took inventory. Everything was as it should be and I closed the door behind me. I then walked a few short steps to the barn and paused to let my eyes adjust to the dimness inside. I could hear the snuffling of the horses that were still in their stalls, and as I walked down the aisle, a few stuck their heads over the stall doors looking for attention. I couldn't help myself as I stopped and spent a few moments with each one before moving on to where I kept Mayhem.    Mayhem whickered softly and blew as I approached and I whispered softly, "It's good to see you to boy," as I unlatched his stall and led him out into the aisle way. He butted his head against my shirt and I chuckled. "Sorry boy. I didn't bring anything this morning." He blew his breath out in a huff and bobbed his head as if to say, "Shame on you!"   "I tell ya what. You behave and when we stop for lunch this afternoon I'll give you a juicy red apple." Mayhem whinnied and nuzzled my shoulder in acceptance and I patted him on the shoulder.                                              read the rest of chapter two here!