Skylee watched the red roan out of the corner of her eye, keeping her body language friendly and at ease. She held a slender hand outstretched to the little roan who took a cautious step towards her and then another. He was a foot from her hand when the blaring of a car horn and the crunch of tires on gravel sent the colt whirling away. He galloped to the far side of the round corral and stood snorting, pressed against the fence. His head was held high, the whites of his eyes showing in panic. "Idiots," Skylee growled glancing over her shoulder to see the big black limo pulling in. "Bloody fool tourists."

With a shake of her head, she turned her attention back to the trembling roan. "Ignore them handsome," she cooed to the horse. "No one is going to hurt you little man; never again." As she kept up a string of soothing cooing the red roan began to relax and slowly lower his head to a more relaxed and normal height. Curiosity began to slowly over take fear, and he took a cautious step towards her outstretched hand. And then another, and another. He was nearly to her hand again when the banging of the screen door on the ranch house sent him wheeling away again. \

With another sigh, Skylee looked over her shoulder to she Lashonda, the ranch's sassy African American cook and house keeper and all around mother, walking towards her. A man in a black suit and shades followed her, his face an expressionless mask. Skylee knew that she wouldn't get anymore work done until this was taken care of so she climbed over the log fence of the round corral, dropping to the ground just as Lashonda and the man reached her.

"Skylee Rivers?" The man asked, waiting to continue until he say her nod. "Congratulations! You have won an all expense paid cruise aboard the Dreamweaver, the newest luxury cruise ship." His tone was bored, almost as if he were reading the words off a script.

"You must be mistaken," Skylee scoffed. "I didn't enter any contest or anything."

"I entered yo'self Honey Child," Lashonda said with a smile.

"I can't go one a cruise," Skylee snapped, pushing her blonde mane out of her face. "There is to much work to do. Buck still bolts anytime a cow comes near him, Sweet Symphony still rears every time you try and load her in the starting gate, not to mention Crackerjack you tries to bite anytime you try and saddle him. And I still have

"Now Honey Child all you have done since...well since you know what, is work," Lashonda chastised. "You won't be no good to the animals if you work yo'self to death."

"I have to agree with Lashonda." The voice stopped Nicole's protest and she turned to see her boss Mack, a man who looked a lot like Willie Nelson, step out of the shadowed barn. "The horses will still be here when you get back little lady."

Skylee looked back and forth between the stubborn, determinated face of Lashonda and the kind, gentle face of Mack. With a sigh she relented; there was no fighting with the two. Whether she wanted to or not, it looked like Skylee was going on a cruise.