Olivia

The car ride lasts for about an hour. Throughout that time Charlie turns the radio up. I can't help but sing along as some of my favorite songs come on. At one point Charlie even joins in. I start to sing louder as my shyness fades away. Mostly because Charlie is a horrible singer. I almost want to cover my ears when he sings.

When our throats get sore from singing we stop at Dairy Queen and buy some blizzards. Then we head back out onto the ride and just talk.

During the drive I learned so much about Charlie. He's friends with El. In his spare time he programs, plays games and even cooks. It also turns out that we both have the same math teacher and both hate her. But, as we talk it isn't these random facts that make a warmth grow in me, but the realization that even if we aren't talking I would feel comfortable with Charlie. No matter what situation we're in I feel like I can trust him.

That's when my big mouth decides to do the talking. "How do we know this is going to work?" I ask. I stare out the windshield. But I'm not sure what I'm asking will work. Do I mean the job hunting? Or me and him?

"What's going to work?"

"The job hunting? What if I never find a job for me and I have to work at the bakery for the rest of my life?" My hand makes its way to my hair. The red curls twist around my finger.

"I'm sure we will," he says.

"How can you be so sure?" This time I look at him when I ask.

His jaw twitches. "Because I believe that there's a job for everyone out there. We can't be thinking that there isn't."

I sigh and lean back. I close my eyes. "You really think so?"

Charlie's hand grabs mine. "I know so."

Butterflies. Fireworks. Something moves in my stomach. But I don't take my hand away from his.

***

The car turns onto a gravel driveway. A sign on the corner greets us. Welcome to Hill Heights Ranch.

"Interesting name," I comment.

Charlie nods. "Not something I would have picked."

As we drive down the driveway a fence appears. But it isn't what I expected it to be. I expected signs that say private property and the gate to be locked and closed. Instead the gate is wide open and there's another welcome sign. To the left of the gate is a little parking lot for visitors.

As Charlie parks the car he looks around. "Huh. I thought she would be waiting for us." He pulls his phone out of his pocket.

"Who?" I ask as his fingers fly across the screen.

"The lady who will be showing us around today."

A few moments after he sends the texts a lady comes flying out of a barn.We get out and meet her halfway. When we get closer I notice her brown hair is a little wild. "Hey there," she greets. "Sorry about being late. I got a little caught up."

Charlie sticks his hand out for her to shake. "That's okay. I'm Charlie, by the way and this is Olivia."

The lady shakes his hand. "I'm Vanessa. I remember seeing your name in the system today. You'll just want to follow me this way and I can get you started."

Charlie grins. "Great!"

I tilt my head to the side. "What does she mean by being in the system and getting us started?" I whisper to Charlie.

He grins. "Well we can't come to a ranch and not ride any horses! After you," Charlie says with a little bow.

I laugh. "Dork."

He grins and winks at me, which sends something fluttering through me.

No. This isn't supposed to be happening. Am I falling for Charlie? But, I'm supposed to like Nick. I do like Nick. So, then why are these feelings appearing for Charlie? Maybe it's a glitch. Or maybe I'm spending so much time with Charlie that my brain is confusing him with Nick.

I shake my head. I can't be thinking about boys right now, or my feelings for them. I need to be focusing on finding my future job.

"This here is the tack room," Vanessa says.

I clear my thoughts and focus on the room we are now in. If this has any chance to be my future job I need to focus and try my best at it.

The tack room is what I expected it to look like. It has saddles, bridles, ropes, and pieces of fabric that look like they could be used for something. There are other things in the room too that I don't recognize. Like those covers they put on horse's eyes, leather straps, blankets, and weird metal things that have two holes on each side. Plus, a lot of items that make it look like you could play dress-up with the horses.

"This is where we store all of the equipment for our horses. I'll tell you a bit about everything so you have some basic knowledge before we get you started with the horses. " Vanessa takes us around the room, showing us what each item is used for. She tells me that the things I thought were blankets are actually called saddle pads and aren't held down by anything. There are even leg wraps for horses to help protect them and give them support. They also keep the legs clean and keep them warm.

She shows us their grain room, and where they keep the medicine and how each one will help the horses. After that she lets us grab some saddles before taking us to the horses. Which actually aren't that far from where the saddles are. Which, thank goodness because the saddles are heavy.

"Now. I'm going to let you two ride our calmest horses. But before that let me break down some basic rules for you."

As I try to listen to all the rules I can't help the adrenaline that rushes through me. I'm about to ride a horse! For the very first time ever! I never would have expected to ride a horse. I didn't even know this place let us do that. I turn my attention back to Vanessa and listen to the rest of the rules. The rules are similar to that of driving a car or racing around a track. You have to leave a horse distance between you and the person and horse in front of you. If you're moving slower, move to the middle of the ring, let other riders know if you're moving in a different direction. Two of the most important rules though are to stay calm when a horse gets spooked and bring yours to a halt. And the second one is to always wear a helmet.

Vanessa brings us over to the stalls. "These are the two horses you'll be riding," she says. She stands between two stalls. The one on the left of her holds a horse with gray fur and a silver-like mane, while the one on her right has a dark brown mane and almost black fur. "This is Cream," she says, pointing at the lighter horse. "And this is Cookies." She points to the darker one.

"Cookies and Cream?" I smirk.

She grins. "Yep!"

"That's great," Charlie says with a little chuckle.

"Right? My daughter gave me the idea for their names." She turns and looks at Cream. "These two are so special and kind." She coughs. "But that's not what you're here for! Let me break some more things down for you."

"There's more?" I ask.

She nods. "Taking care of horses isn't that simple. We gotta make sure that they stay calm and don't get grumpy with us."

"How would they get grumpy with us?" I ask.

"Well, there's a certain order that we have to take our horses out in. And if we don't, well, some of them throw tantrums." She glances over at a brown horse that somehow gives off the energy that they are full of themselves. "But as long as they all go out in the right order then everything is fine."

"So do we need to do that today?" Charlie asks.

Vanessa nods. "Some of the horses are already out. But these three guys are the last ones. I'll start by taking Dom with me and then I'll come back and help you two with Cookies and Cream."

I nod.

I move out of the way and watch Vaness as she sets Dom up and takes him out. Then it's just me and Charlie in here by ourselves. He shifts and kicks at the floor. I avert my gaze and look at Cream.

Why are we acting so weird? Everything is fine between. Except for maybe the butterflies that fly around my stomach anytime we're together. I still don't get why I have them though. I always feel safe and comfortable around Charlie. I feel like I can tell him anything and I don't have to pretend or hide behind a smile like I have to do at the bakery.

It's weird. I've only really gotten to know him since he offered to help me. So why do I feel so comfortable with him?

I look over my shoulder at him. He isn't paying any attention to me and is instead gazing with wide eyes up at Cookies. Even though Cookies is the one he'll be riding, Cookies is still a good foot bigger than him. I grin then quickly shake my head.

I pull my phone out of my pocket and send a quick text to Naomi before turning back towards Charlie.