Karen sat by the creek with her journal in her lap. She was too tired to even write in it. She had never realized all the hard work that her father had put into running the ranch. But then, he had her and her mother to help him, not to mention Mr. Jennings. She often thought about him, and wished he had never left. But life was hard and she had to learn to deal with it.

Karen lay back on the rock and let the sun warm her face. It had been so long since she had time to relax. Ever since the dance, she had been too busy to even think about taking any time for herself. She hated to admit it but she really needed help at the ranch.

‘Well, back to work,’ she thought to herself as she stood and gathered her things to leave.

Karen reread the ad out loud. "Professional Lady, Seeking Work, Loves to break and train Horses, Please ask for Samantha at the Livery Stable."

‘No way. This is too perfect,’ she thought to herself.

She stepped off the boardwalk and grabbed Storm’s reigns. She then headed over to the livery. After tying up Storm, she walked into the stable and saw Justin working at the fire pit.

"Hello, Justin."

"Hi, Karen. What can I do for you?"

"Well, actually there are two things. Storm picked up a stone on the way into town today. I think that she needs a new shoe.

"Sure, I’ll get that done as soon as I finish this one that I am working on. What was the other thing?"

"I need to speak with Samantha."

"She should be in the last stall on the right."

"Okay. Thanks. Storm is right outside if you need her."

"Sure thing."

Karen walked to the back of the stables and saw Samantha mucking the stall. "Samantha?"

Samantha turned abruptly at the sound of her voice. "Hello. Karen, right?"

"Yes, we met out at the schoolhouse."

"Right. It’s nice to see you again. Is there something I can help you with?"

"Well, uh, I own Mustang Hill . . . the horse ranch that is a few miles outside of town. I saw your ad in the Gazette, and I need someone to help me with the horses. I was wondering if you would like to work with me. It won’t be too much . . . basically while I am out of town I need for you to watch over the ranch. In fact, I am going out of town to buy some horses in about two weeks, so I would need for you to take care of the ranch and any business that comes in while I am gone. Also, when I bring the horses in, I will need help in breaking and getting them ready for sale. What do you think?"

Samantha said, "I would like that. I’m really good with horses. You won’t regret hiring me. Thanks, Karen."

Karen nodded her head. "Can you start tomorrow?"