Chapter 1

• ***
• Sheridan's POV (point of view):
• I'm Sheridan Wesley. I'm eleven years old. I've always lived with my dad. He's the only person I've got. He loves me and I love him too. But soon our lives changed. Mine especially.
• It was a sunny day in Blueville, a rural small town not far away from Tennessee. The kind of place where everyone knew everyone. My dad was one of the most popular and well-liked people of Blueville. He owned vast land and a big ranch.
• I always loved working with him. I loved the farm life. I knew how to ride horses, milk cows, make butter, plant seeds and harvest crops. I was well loved by all my dad's employees and well known too by the people of the town. I was the little boy who always gave a helping hand.
• "Sheridan??" my dad called from downstairs one day.
• "Yes, dad!" I replied coming over to meet him. He was at the table.
• Breakfast was ready.
• "Sit down, son."
• I did. We ate toast with jam and drank fresh milk. I looked at my mom's picture on the wall. I'd never known her because I'd lost her immediately I was born. My dad noticed me.
• "Your mother loved you with all her heart, Sheridan. She wanted you to be that hardworking and kind boy you are today." he smiled at me and I smiled back.
• "Thanks, dad."
• "When you will be big enough, you'll take over my ranch and company."
• "Really, dad??"
• My father had always spoken about his company in the city of Los Angeles. I'd never been to Los Angeles nor had I ever seen his company. I only saw it on pictures. Whenever I asked him why we didn't live in Los Angeles, he would reply:
• "I wanted you to grow up here in our native hometown. I didn't want you to be obsessed with technology and to be a spoiled brat. I want to groom you for the hard life. I want you to be able to survive tomorrow if you don't have money. One never knows what the future holds, son."
• And he was right.
• "Yes. Really. All this will be yours someday." he added.
• "Thanks, dad." I stood up to hug him. He hugged me tight.
• "I love you, son. You deserve the best."
• "I love you too."
• "Good. Now let's go for a ride with the horses."
• "Cool!" I loved exploring the woods with my dad. He was one of the best memories of my childhood.
• ***
• School had just closed for the easter holiday and I returned home with good results. My dad was proud of me.
• "Excellent, dear. I'm proud of you."
• "Thanks, dad."
• "How 'bout we have a short stay at Kenneth's place?" he asked.
• My eyes widened and a happy smile spread across my face. Mr Kenneth was my dad's very good friend. He was a very kind man who loved his family. Whenever he came visiting, he would keep me presents.
• He too had a big ranch, High meadow Ranch. It was situated far out of Blueville. I'd gone there once because my father couldn't always take me there because of the distance.
• I'd lastly gone there when I was six. And I had very good memories of the place. I used to play with his first daughter, Heather, she was four by then and her little sister, Sawyer was still a two year old baby. It'd been long and I wondered what they looked like now. Heather was probably nine and a half now. And Sawyer, seven and a half.
• "That'll be a great idea! But um, will Mrs Christina be there?"
• Mrs Christina was Mr Kenneth's wife. I always avoided her because I found her strange. She wasn't as smiley and kind as her husband. She was quite strict. I remember she used to refuse that Heather should play with me and that caused her husband to be annoyed and scream at her.
• "Yes, she will."
• "Oh..."
• My dad chuckled.
• "Don't be afraid son, she's a good person. She's just a little strict."
• "Oh um, okay."
• That still didn't convince me. But well, I wasn't going let her spoil my short stay at their ranch.
• ***
• I packed my stuff ahead of time so I would not forget important stuff. I couldn't wait for the weekend. We'd be spending two weeks there. Awesome! I couldn't wait. The best part of it all was the road trip with my dad.
• ~
• The weekend did arrive and I was more than anxious. We said goodbye to the employees and I said goodbye to my horse, Strike. Soon we were off on our tiring but interesting long road trip.
• We sang songs, told stories and made jokes throughout the trip. It was a three hour one.
• At a point we stopped at a gas station in the middle of nowhere to fill the truck's tank. Then we continued.
• "Dad?"
• "Yes?"
• "I'm hungry."
• "Don't worry, there's a little café not far from here."
• "Okay."
• We reached the café and sat down to have breakfast because we'd left our ranch at 8am that day.
• ***
• At exactly 11:30, we went through the high meadow ranch gate. We'd arrived. I was so happy. The ranch was as big as ours. They had very vast lands and enough cattle too. As we drove in, I saw horses, cows and goats grazing as the employees supervised them. I waved and they waved back.
• This was going to be fun.
• As we approached the farm house, a smiling Mr Kenneth could be seen at the veranda. He came over as we parked the truck.
• 
• "My good ol' Paul." he chuckled happily when my dad stepped out of the truck.
• "As alive as ever, Ken." my dad laughed and they hugged each other.
• "It was about time you passed by." he then turned to me, "You've grown taller than the last time I saw you, son. You're a little man now."
• I smiled at him. If I'd ever lost my dad, I could only depend on Mr ken. He was like a brother to my dad and a second father to me.
• "Thank you." I smiled.
• "No problem, son. I bet the girls won't recognise you." he turned to my dad.
• "Let's go in, Paul. Christina's made breakfast. Even if you've already eaten, you would have to eat again."
• "Hahaha, I know Ken."
• "Good. The boys will take care of your bags." he said, calling over some employees.