"Ugh, I hate when you have to leave for work." Maleena pouted, leaning forward to give Cody another kiss. Still dressed in her pajamas, with messy hair and baggy, tired eyes, it was evident that she had just woken up, but yet she wanted to send her boyfriend off to work with a proper goodbye.

         "Trust me, I hate havin' to leave you, but I have to make money so I can keep takin' you out on dates." Bright eyed and bushy tailed Cody smiled, asking for another kiss that was followed by many more. The only thing that pulled the couple away from their make-out session was an alarm going off on Cody's phone. 

        Pulling back with a groan, Maleena stood with her arms folded. "And I hate your alarms sometimes. I wish you could stay here all day, especially since it is my day off." 

       Looking back up from shutting off the notification on his phone that was his final warning to leave for work so he wasn't late, Cody shot his girlfriend a grin. "So much hatred this morning, darlin'. Where's the love?" He kissed her cheek as he grabbed his cowboy hat off the hook on the wall, beside the front door.

        "Oh, you know I have nothin' but love for you in my heart. Otherwise I wouldn't have woken up before the sun on the only day off I have had since I started working at the feed store, just to give you a proper sendoff." She retorted, feeling extra sassy this morning. It didn't help that Cody and her had fallen asleep in the living room, watching a movie until two in the morning. Considering it was only 6am, that meant they only got about 4 hours of sleep; Maleena was confused how Cody could be so chipper this early, on as little sleep as he received. 

        "Yeah, about that proper sendoff." Cody hinted, wrapping his arms around Maleena's waist again, pulling her against him in a kiss. Every morning he had to leave to head to work, the harder and harder it was getting to say goodbye to his girlfriend.

       "Okay. No more until I get to see you tonight. I don't want you being late to work, and then the boss makes you stay longer just to get stuff done." 

        "Good point. I will be over later to help you staple up that fence line." Cody let go of Maleena to fish his keys out of his pocket, halfway out the door. 

        "Sounds good. See you in a few hours. Have a good day, sweetheart; text me when you get to work, even though I will most likely be sleeping." Maleena waved to Cody as he walked off the porch.

       "See you in a bit, darlin'." Cody smiled, hopping in his truck. 

      With a sigh, Maleena shut the door once Cody's truck was headed towards the road. Tromping her way back upstairs to her bedroom, Maleena tried not to let herself miss Cody too much. Every day she had been reminding herself to enjoy and cherish the days they still had together before school started back up. Never in her life had she expected to feel what she felt every time she was around Cody, and the absence and loneliness that overtook her when he left. Only time would tell, but she was starting to worry how their relationship would fare when school started back up, knowing how busy they would be on top of their jobs, rodeo, and hopes of a social life. Something would certainly have to go, but none of those things were something Maleena was willing to let go of. 

                                                        ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

        "Oh, look at this. I just got an email from the same person who emailed me about my selection for the futurity race." Maleena stated to Cody later that day when her cell phone vibrated, telling her she had a new email. The couple was riding out through the fields to get to the pasture where they had to staple up a few lines of wire fencing.

        "Oh, cool. What's it say?" Cody asked as he drove the truck one handed through the bumpy ground, the tall grass hitting the grill of his truck with every foot they traveled. Looking to his right, he watched Maleena as she scanned the email, her face revealing an indecipherable look. 

        "It says that the futurity race horses are being sold in a sale this weekend. The riders who rode them in the race have been asked to come back and ride them around the show ring, showing them off, then folks will put in offers if they're interested. But it says it's for 'serious and reputable buyers only.'" Maleena held up two fingers in an air quote. "It just makes me sad to think about Bullet goin' to another person. I mean, I know I have only ever ridden him once and such, but he is just such an amazing horse. I really think he has a ton of potential, and he's so young, so he has a lot left in him. I just...ugh, he is such a great horse. I really felt like we had a connection. It's sad to think some random person will just buy him." 

       "I see." He was still watching Maleena as he saw her face light up, as if a light bulb had just been lit. "I know that look. What are you thinking?" 

       Maleena, giving Cody's hand a squeeze, turned fully to him, looking at him across the truck seat. "Cody, I could buy him. I could buy Bullet!" Cody's adorning chuckle didn't stop Maleena from continuing her thought. "I mean, seriously, I have all that money that I won from the futurity race, and I'm tellin' you, that horse and I could do really well in competitions. You saw how well him and I connected." Maleena was watching Cody, trying to read the expression on his face. "What?" She chuckled when she saw him smiling at her. 

       "Nothin', I think that that is a great idea. But what about Stryker?" He looked back to his driving.

       "What about him?" Maleena thought about her brown and white Appaloosa barrel horse. She had won numerous rodeos on the back of that horse and she loved him more than anything; Stryker was her buddy.

        "Well, if you buy Bullet, and compete on him, then what good is Stryker? I mean, would you compete every other rodeo on them? Bullet will take up a lot of time with training and whatnot. But we both know how much constant attention Stryker needs. If you're spending all your time with Bullet, and none with Stryker, then who's to say that he won't start misbehaving, or getting jealous, y'know?" The truck was quiet as Maleena thought over the truth of what Cody was saying. "I really think that buyin' Bullet is a great idea, don't get me wrong, I just wanted you to think of both sides. Plus, workin' with Bullet would give you something to focus on while I am gone." Cody was focusing on his driving, trying his best to avoid all the potholes and ruts in the pasture. 

        Maleena ran a finger over the back of Cody's hand that she was holding, lifting it up just to let it fall back onto Cody's thigh. "Why do you keep talkin' about you goin' to college as you 'leaving' and being 'gone,' and such? I thought you said that you really like the university here?" 

     Cody let out a heavy sigh, mulling over various responses to answer his girlfriend's question. 

    "Cody?" Maleena prodded when she didn't get a response.

      "I'm still tryin' to weigh out all of my options. My family and I toured a bunch of colleges and universities in different states last week."

      It wasn't quite the answer that Maleena was looking for, as she was expecting a definitive explanation, but she would take anything at this point. Especially since her and Cody had kept on putting off the whole college talk, not wanting to come to grips that things were fixing to get even more busy for them once mid-August came around. "Well, don't you have to make a decision pretty soon? I mean, don't classes start in like three weeks?" 

       Cody, shifting in his seat, cleared his throat. "Yeah, they do, but this is a really really big decision for me. Plus, I really want to take the time to sit down with you and talk about the options in depth. You're a huge part of my decision. You know that." Cody glanced over at Maleena, squeezing her hand slightly. 

         "Okay, then why don't we talk about it now?" 

       Once again, Cody seemed to avoid the topic. "We can talk about it later tonight, if that is okay? In the meantime, we got some work to go." Just as he said it, he put the truck into park by the fence they had to staple, hopping out of the cab before Maleena could say anything in protest. 

       With a sigh, Maleena jumped down from her seat, slamming the truck door behind her, following Cody by the bed, grabbing the fencing supplies they needed.

      "Hey, speaking of work, is Rose still fixin' to come out and help us?" Cody asked, grabbing the bucket of fencing staples as Maleena grabbed the hammers. 

       "Yeah, she said she will be here pretty soon. I find it funny that this is my first day off in weeks, and the first day that you got off work at noon in ages, and we are choosing to spend it with my best friend, working on fences.

        "True. But, the sooner we get this done, the sooner we can all go out to dinner, and the sooner you and I get to spend some time together." 

      Chuckling, Maleena grabbed a handful of staples with one hand lifting the wire fence off the ground, holding it against the post. "Alright, alright, I got the hint. Less talking, more workin'." Grinning, Maleena held the wire against the wooden post, preparing to hammer in a staple when she heard a truck roll up behind her, music blaring loudly from the speakers. Glancing over her shoulder, Maleena could recognize that truck out of a crowd. Dropping what she was doing, Maleena walked over to the truck right as the driver hopped out of the cab. "Hey, Rose. Good to see ya." She gave her friend a hug. 

         "You too, girl." Rose slid her sunglasses on over her eyes, under her white and blue lacy ball cap she was sporting. "Is this all y'all have gotten done? Dadgum, glad I came to help y'all." Rose teased, following Maleena to the work site. 

       "Hey, Rose, it's good to see you." Cody paused his task to greet his visitor. 

       "Likewise." Rose nodded, clapping and rubbing her hands together. "So, where do y'all want me to start?" 

      Maleena, handing Rose a hammer and a handful of staples, pointed to a spot down yonder on the fence. "How's about down there sound? Then we can all work our way down?" 

        "Sounds good. Let's get this finished so we can get food. I'm starvin'." Rose commented as she drove the "U" shaped metal staple into the fence post. 

          "Man, glad that is finished. It's gettin' pretty warm out." Rose huffed out, resting her hands on her hips. 

          "I agree. Summer is definitely here, that's for sure." Maleena chuckled, wiping a hand over her forehead; she was thankful she wore her light colored cowboy hat to work, otherwise it would have been much hotter. 

          "What do y'all say we head into town and grab some food now?" Cody joined in the conversation, setting the tools in the bed of Maleena's truck, turning to the ladies. 

       Maleena, standing right next to Rose, leaned over and whispered, just loud enough for Rose to hear, "I swear food is always the only thing on Cody's mind. What is it with guys and food? They're constantly hungry, yet somehow managed to stay thin as a stick. I don't understand." She chuckled, making Rose burst out in laughter as well. 

        Cody tucked his hands into his jeans pocket, walking over to where the females were still snickering. "Y'all ready to pick 'em up and ship 'em out?" 

       "Yeah. Is it alright if I ride with Rose back to the house?" Maleena spoke up, breaking the fit of giggles her and Rose had gotten into. 

       "Absolutely. Race y'all back." Cody winked, jogging to the truck. 

        "Oh, you're on, cowboy." Rose challenged back, hopping up into her truck, starting the ignition and dropping it into drive, pushing her foot to the gas some before Maleena could even fully shut the door. 

      With tires spinning, Rose and Cody raced back through the pastures as quickly, but safely as was possible.

      After several more adrenaline filled minutes, Rose's truck beat Cody to Maleena's family's ranch house. Out of breath from laughing so hard, Maleena and Rose tumbled out of the truck, standing by the tailgate to greet Cody when he stopped the truck right next to where Rose and Maleena were standing, arms and ankles crossed, leaning against the tailgate of Rose's truck. 

       "What took you so long, cowboy?" Rose teased. 

        Cody, pointing backwards, grinned as he said, "It's the girlfriend's truck. I don't think she would be very happy if I did anything to her truck. She would never forgive me if I did."  

      Maleena walked over to her boyfriend, wrapping her arms around his waist. "Dang straight." She smiled. "Now, let's go get us some food, y'all. I can drive." Maleena pulled back from Cody, holding her hand out, asking for her keys. 

       Cody fished the keys from his pocket, dropping them into Maleena's hand before walking back to her truck to open the door for her. With Maleena behind the steering wheel, Cody in the middle, and Rose in the passenger seat, it was a tight squeeze for all three, but a lot of room was freed when Cody snaked his arm around the back of Maleena, his hand resting on her shoulders. 

       "Oh, shoot, y'all I left my wallet at my house. Is there any way we could swing by there quick on the way into town?" Rose realized as Maleena started her truck.

        "I can pay for you, Rose." Cody offered. 

         "Yeah, we got you." Maleena reiterated. 

         "No, I can't let y'all do that. I promise I will be quick grabbing my wallet. Plus my house is on the way into town." Rose protested.

       Maleena knew her friend well enough to know that she would keep pushing until Maleena caved, so saving herself the argument, Maleena chuckled. "Alright, you win. We can make a pit stop." 

       Several minutes later, Maleena's truck rumbled down Rose's driveway, stopping in front of her house. "I recognize that truck." Rose mumbled as she hopped down from the cab. "I-I'll be right back." 

       Maleena and Cody watched their friend through the windshield as she slowly approached the house, stopping momentarily when she saw her visitor stand up from his seat on the porch. Rose's hands flew to her mouth when the visitor walked down the porch steps, lifting Rose into an embrace, picking her feet up off the ground. 

       "Oh my goodness!" Maleena exclaimed, a smile rising to her lips. 

       "What? Who is that?" Cody asked, confused by the situation.

      "I don't believe it. That's Lucas!"