Chapter 2

                After spending a beautiful night under the stars in a sleeping bag, Elynne figured out two things.  She learned that the land that she had inherited was worth keeping, but she also learned that it might be a bit more enjoyable if she had a house.  Unfortunately funds were low, and she had already wasted a day.

                She knew that she would need some sort of shelter, and she didn't know who else to call, so she phoned the first number on a truck that drove by that morning.  She told the woman who answered the phone how much money she had to work with, and the woman laughed, but said she’d accept the job.  A team would be over today.

                Elynne picked up her basket of produce from the day before and hid it in the bushes hoping that no animals would come by and make a meal of her only food.  Who knew how much money Elynne would have after the contractors finished with her property?  Heaven forbid she’d have to go back over to Shawnee and Cheyenne’s.

She set out to see the sights.  She had heard Shawnee and Cheyenne mention there were a lot of horse people in town, and Elynne decided maybe she should get a horse.  Why not?  It might help her get to know all the people in town.

She quickly changed her mind after visiting the Equestrian Center.  Those horses were way too expensive.  Who was Elynne kidding anyway?  She couldn’t really take care of herself right now much less someone else.

                The sounds of horses made her turn.  Was that a training center too?  Wow this town sure was into their horses.  Elynne decided to check it out.  She had plenty of time didn’t she?  On the way over she met someone new, and out of desperation begged them to help her find a job.

                “I’m Jazzlyn!”

                “I’m Elynne, and I am in desperate need of a job.  Where’s a good place to work around here?”

                “The supermarket is hiring!”  Jazzlyn chirped,“They also purchase fruits and vegetables locally to support our town.  So if you know of anyone who could work the checkout, or a gardener with extra produce, let me know.  Oh, here’s my card.”

                “Thanks,” Elynne grinned, “I’ll let you know!”

                How well could a checkout girl afford to build her own house?  Oh well, at least she could eat.

                The rest of the day, Elynne watched horses and trainers at the training grounds.  The horses really put Elynne’s mind at ease.  She found herself cheering for them on the sidelines, and congratulating them when they finished their training even though the horses probably didn’t understand what she was talking about.

                Just as dusk was beginning to fall, the contractors called.  We finished your house, and I think you’ll find that it was well within your budget.

                Good news?  Did Elynne really just get good news?  It was the first time that something positive had happened to her in at least a week, but she was hungry, and since the contractors finished under budget she figured that she deserved a treat.

                The closest restauraunt was quite a haul, but the food and company was well worth it.

                When she returned home, she was too tired to care about the structure that the contractors had built so she just decided to fall asleep in her good old sleeping bag courtesy of Cheyenne.

                Since she spent all night out and about, Elynne woke up late in the afternoon.  After rolling up her sleeping bag, she checked out the contractors’ work.

                Elynne suddenly got what they had meant by well within her budget.  She couldn’t get too mad though because she had no job to finance a mortgage payment, and no money for a better shack.  Her phone started ringing and she saw Shawnee’s name on the caller ID. 

                Ignore.

                That situation was too much drama for Elynne.  Shawnee seemed harmless.  Honestly when Cheyenne threw her out last night, she was completely blindsided.  Remembering last night, made Elynne think about the basket of produce she had hidden in the bushes.  Scooping up the basket, she ran inside.

                After placing her produce in the fridge she decided to try her hand at cooking.  It wasn’t as easy as her mother had made it look.  She actually felt worse after she ate the food than she did before.

                After her failed cooking attempt, she decided to read the paper, and find a class to take.  Elynne needed something to do to distract from the pain she still felt when it came to the death of her parents.  She needed to meet some new people anyway.

                She saw a class in painting on sale, and decided to head to the school.  Immediately, she was in love with the art.  So in love, that she invested in her own easel.  Besides she still hadn’t heard back from the lady that worked at the grocery store.  She needed a way to make money! 

And then she remembered what Jazzlyn told her.

 Since the supermarket was very concerned about the local economy, maybe they’d consider selling her produce… Or if she ran out of money, she would at least have something to eat.  All you had to do was plant and water right?

It hadn’t been that hard to garden at Cheyenne and Shawnee’s, had it?  She picked out an apple, a bunch of grapes, and a head of lettuce to plant in the backyard.

                That night she sat at her window debating about what to do from here.  She wasn’t really focusing on anything until she saw two deer grazing in her backyard.  Elynne had never seen deer this close before, and she jumped up from the table, and ran outside.

                The deer took her breath away.  She sat outside for a long time watching them until they ran off.  While she was gazing at the stars, Elynne noticed two big bright stars in the night sky, and imagined that they were her parents watching over her.  They must have planned for her to one day take over this plot of land.  If they liked this plot of land enough to keep it safe while their whole world was crashing down, there had to be something special about it.

She was going to make a life here.