Jessica and Brianne drove and drove and drove, all the while listening to some perfect driving music- Coppertree and Creed. Brianne didn't really like either band, but then again she didn't really like rock. She preferred pop, but she went along with Jessica's wide taste in music.
They stopped seven hours after they left at a small horse farm in Kentucky, to take a break and go riding. Both loved horses, and Jessica was planning on hopefully buying some when they got settled in Florida.
"Wow, look at all the beautiful horses!" Jess exclaimed, looking at the horses as they climbed out of the car, eagerly stretching their tired legs and limbs. In the large pastures were horses of all breeds and colors, everything from white Arabians to brindle Paso Finos to bay heavy draft horses to pinto Fallabella Miniatures.
"They're gorgeous," Brianne agreed, "But I like that guy over there better!" She smirked, pointing to a tall man with very dark brown hair.
Jessica rolled her eyes, "We're here to relax, not to scope out guys."
"But this is my way of relaxing!" Brianne protested, laughing.
Jessica rolled her eyes, "Lets go get information about trail rides." Brianne nodded and followed her.
Over in the stable, two men were sitting at the counter, waiting for customers. "When are we going back to Florida?" the short one asked the tall one.
"Today, in a few hours," the tall one replied. "Our flight is at 3, it's 1 now. We have time for one more ride before we leave." The short one nodded.
He was startled as the two girls came up. He nudged the tall one, nodding at the girls. The guy nodded in approval.
"May we help you ladies?" the tall one asked in his deep, husky voice as Brianne and Jessica walked up.
"When's the next trail ride goin out?" Jessica asked, smiling.
"In about 10 minutes," he replied, looking at the clock over her head.
"Ok, then the two of us will be going on it. Right, Brianne?" Jessica asked, looking pointedly over at Brianne, who was staring into space daydreaming.
"Huh? Wha.. Oh, yeah," Brianne smiled sheepishly.
"Ok," the guy laughed. "Would you prefer English or Western?"
"English," Jessica replied.
"Western," Brianne replied at the same time. The guy nodded. He turned towards the short one.
"D, get Sam and Mick saddled up, for the ladies, please."
"Of course," "D" replied, smiling at the girls. 'He's cute...' Jessica thought, resisting the urge to giggle.
"Allright, ladies, that'll be $60 for the two of you," the tall one smiled. Each girl pulled out 30 and handed it to him. "Follow me," he smiled, leading them out to a mounting area.
D walked up, leading two horses.
He pointed to Brianne and motioned her to come over. "This is Sam. He's a retired Thoroughbred gelding," D said as he helped Brianne up onto the large bay horse. As Brianne settled in, he pulled another horse around.
"A Paso!" Jessica laughed. D nodded. "Aww, they're one of my favorite breeds."
"Mine too," D smiled. "This is Mick, he's obviously a Paso Fino." He helped her mount the small chestnut horse. "Just a warning, he's a goofball," D laughed. "Named after Micky Dolenz."
"No shit," Jessica laughed, patting the horse. D nodded, smiling.
"Allright ladies, shall we be off?" the tall guy asked, riding up on a stolid black Friesian stallion. The girls nodded. "C'mon Bud," he said to the horse, gently kicking him into a trot. The girls followed eagerly, Jessica turning around to smile at D, who was waving at them.
As they got into a heavily wooded area, they slowed their horses down to a walk.
"Sir, do you mind if I ask you your name?" Brianne asked, smiling.
"Not at all," he laughed, "It's Kevin. What are your names?" he winked at them as he turned around.
"I'm Brianne, and that's Jessica," Briana replied, pointing to Jessica who was behind her.
"What are you two lovely ladies doin out here?" Kevin smiled, bringing Bud to a trot again.
"Well, we're on our way to Florida," Brianne explained.
"Any special reason? for college or something?" he asked.
"No, just to get away from our families and the past." Bri said, looking around her at all the trees and flowers. Jessica let out a soft sigh. Mick turned his head to look at her, as if asking what was wrong. She laughed softly and patted the horse.
"Ah, I see. Are you having a pleasent drive?"
"More or less," Brianne replied. "It's been a long one, Seven hours so far. We're coming from Illinois."
"You used to live in Illinois? My friend Nick knows someone who lives there. It's a cool place."
"Yea, I love Chicago. It is so pretty there," Jessica replied, smiling.
"I like going down there to check out what movies and TV shows are being filmed," Brianne laughed. "I've been lucky doing that, I've gotten cast several times as an extra in 'Early Edition'."
"Early Edition? Sounds familiar," Kevin said thoughtfully.
"It's one of my favorite shows," Jessica smiled. "The kitty cat is adorable. It's in What Women Want," she laughed. "But anyway, the show was about this guy who got tomorrow's newspaper today and how he stopped all kinds of disasters and stuff."
"when's it on?" he asked. "Sounds interesting."
"Well, it got cancelled, but it's still on Fox Family channel." she replied. They rode in comfortable silence for another five or ten minutes.
"Well here we are, at the end of the trail." Kevin said, pulling his horse to a stop as they reached the area where they mounted.
"Well, that was fun, thanks Kev," Jessica said, smiling at Kevin.
"Anytime," he laughed.
"We'll look you up next time we're in KY," Brianne smiled flirtatiously. He nodded.
"Well, we gotta get back on the road, unfortunately. This was a nice break from driving. One question first- do you have a bathroom we could use?" Jessica smiled sheepishly.
"Of course," Kevin laughed. "It's through that doorway." he said, pointing to a door at the end of the hallway.
"Thanks," Jess replied. Kevin nodded.