Dude Ranch

"Passengers, please return to your seats and tighten your seatbelts", the captain announced, "We will begin our initial ascent to Jackson Hole, Wyoming shortly".

Looking right next to him, Zephyr asked, "Are you just going to read books the whole time you're here?".

Looking up, Alex replied, "We're here to relax and reading a book helps me relax, so yes".

"Aww", Zephyr complained, "Come on! Exams are finally over! Live a little. Have some fun".

"I am having fun", Alex replied, looking at him in the eye.

"Urgh", Zephyr groaned, "Don't be so boring. This is an opportunity for us to try new things like horse riding".

"I guess", Alex said, not exactly convinced by his words.

Seeing her reluctance, Zephyr pulled out the big guns, "If you try out horse riding, I'll give you a gift".

"What's the gift?", Alex asked, somewhat curious.

"It's a secret", Zephyr whispered.

"Tell me", Alex demanded, now even more curious.

"Nope", Zephyr teased, tapping her on her nose, causing her to look away in embarrassment.

"Fine then", Alex grumbled, "But let's just relax for the first day, okay?"

"Sure", Zephyr rolled his eyes.

"Good", Alex commented, re-opening her book and reading again.

[Time Skip]

"Look!", Desiree exclaimed, "A horse".

Bella clapped her hands, "Horsy!", she yelled.

Gloria, who was right in front of a horse, screamed, "Look Jay! So beautiful!" while trying to pet the horse.

"Your ears haven't popped yet, huh?", Jay remarked.

"I'm like the horse whisperer!", Gloria shouted, "But something is making this one skittish!", she added seeing the horse neigh.

"Whoa. Look at the mountains", Dylan, who had joined them for some reason, commented.

"They're beautiful", Haley added, gazing at the large mountains in the distance.

"I've never been this far from home before", Dylan stated, his gaze bored to the surroundings. Taking a step forward, he muttered, "Now I've never been this far from home". After taking another, he reaped himself.

"Where's a cliff when you need one?", Claire muttered under her breath.

"Look guys!", Matt exclaimed, grabbing everyone's attention, "A real-life cowboy!".

At his words, a man wearing a hat, galloped over, halting right in front of them. Pulling out an axe, he threw it over at a target that happened to coincidentally be in front of everyone. As everyone was in awe, Zephyr narrowed his eyes, turning to look at the target. Just as the man was about to speak, he was interrupted by Zephyr, "You missed".

"Excuse me", the man muttered, looking at Zephyr.

"You missed", Zephyr clarified, "You initially intended to hit the loop under the sign but because you were distracted, you undershot it".

"Well well well", the man said, somewhat surprised, "It seems we have an expert here. Why don't you give it a try then?".

"I think he meant it as a joke", Matt said, "You're just a kid".

"Don't worry", Zephyr placated, "I'll do it". Stepping forward, he pulled the axe from the target, getting a feel for the weight. Nodding to himself, he casually threw the axe, which whizzed through the air and thumped as it hit the target.

"You missed kiddo", the man on the horse commented.

"No I didn't", Zephyr argued, slowly walking up to the target.

"You didn't hit the loop", the man retorted.

"I never aimed for the loop", Zephyr countered, pulling out the axe, revealing the deep horizontal incision on the head of the cowboy on the sign, causing everyone to be shocked. "See", Zephyr smirked, turning to look at the cowboy, "I never miss".

Instead of getting angry, the man laughed, "I like you, kid. I'm gonna call you Bullseye". Turning his attention to everyone present, he introduced, "The name's Hank. Here at the Lost Creek Ranch, you're gonna ride, you're gonna rope and you're gonna shoot". Seeing that everyone's attention was on him, he continued, "You're going to see a sky so full of stars it'll put your city lights to shame. And when it's all done, you might just encounter a piece of yourself you never knew was there. Are there any questions?"

"Do we book spa treatments through you or?", Manny asked.

"You're funny kid", Hank muttered, looking down at Manny, "Imma call you Hollywood".

"That's not really an answer", Manny murmured, his words ignored.

"And who's this cactus flower?", Hank asked, nodding towards Gloria.

"What?!", Gloria asked, her ears not popped yet.

"This is my wife, Gloria", Jay introduced.

"Well. She's Cactus Flower now Old Timer", Hank replied.

"These nicknames, uh ... are they set in stone?", Jay asked.

[Time Skip]

As Alex was reading a book with her feet dipped in the pool, a boy her age jumped in, causing some water to splash on her and her book. Seeing this, she sighed and wiped off the water before returning to reading.

As Luke walked over to Manny, who was reclining on a chair, he greeted, "Hey, Hollywood".

"I don't love that", Manny replied, wiping some of the water that had gotten on him.

"You wanna see something?", Luke asked as he opened the zipper to his bag. Looking around for a second, he pulled something out and showed Manny.

"Oh God! Is that a firecracker?", Manny exclaimed.

"Shh", Luke hushed, "I still need to find the perfect place to blow this up".

"Is that thing even legal?", Manny questioned, leaning closer to Luke.

"Not here", Luke shook his head, "This thing's from Germany. If they had this during the war, we'd be knee deep in strudel".

"What?", Manny asked, confused at where Luke got the idea.

As Alex was turning the next page of her book, the guy from before doggy paddled past her, making sure to splash as much water as possible.

"Watch it!", Alex exclaimed, incredibly annoyed by his actions.

"Watcha doing?", the guy asked, floating over to her, "You reading?"

"Trying to", Alex replied, not paying him too much attention.

"I'm not so good at it either", the guy commented.

"I'm not surprised", Alex rolled her eyes.

"That was a joke", the guy defended. Holding his hand out, he introduced himself, "I'm Jimmy Scrivano".

As Alex was about to shake his hand, another one quickly shook his, "And I'm Zephyr Blake".

Turning around, Alex was slightly surprised to find Zephyr here. "Zephyr", Alex greeted, "I thought you were planning on joining the others".

"I was", Zephyr agreed, "But they're doing Clay Pigeon Shooting and Dad won't let me shoot"

"You need to be over 18", Alex replied.

"I know", Zephyr complained, "But I was planning on convincing the cowboy to let me try".

"That would be illegal", Alex remarked, "And it'd get him thrown in jail".

Zephyr sighed, "Such a spoilsport".

Finally finished with their conversation, Jimmy looked at him and asked, "Who are you?".

"He's Zephyr", Alex answered, "He's my boyfriend".

"That's cool", Jimmy said, somewhat dejected by the statement and swiftly after began to swim away, this time no splashing a lot of water on them.

"So", Zephyr said excitedly, turning to look at Alex, "We've got horse riding in 2 hours".

"Okay", Alex rolled her eyes, seeing where this was going.

"I think that gives us plenty of time to jump in the pool and make it back there in time", Zephyr said, a smile on his face.

Seeing his crystal blue eyes looking at her with expectation, she finally crumbled under the pressure, "Fine. I'll join you".

"Great", Zephyr replied, a grin on his face. Quickly snatching the book from her hand, he threw it at Manny, who just about caught it. A second later, he took her glasses and slid them to Luke. Grabbing Alex arm, he jumped into the pool, pulling Alex down with him.

As they resurfaced, Alex smacked him on the chest. "Don't ... ever ... do that again", Alex spluttered, wiping the water from her face.

"But it was fun", Zephyr countered, a large grin on his face.

Seeing the infectious smile on his face, Alex smiled back at him, "Yeah. It was".

Manny, who was observing this spectacle, grumbled, "How does he make it look so easy".

"What?", Luke asked, looking through Alex's glasses and blinking constantly.

"Zephyr", Manny clarified, "Him and Alex have been dating for basically a whole year and and he makes it look like being in a relationship is so easy".

"I don't know", Luke shrugged.

"I tried asking out Stella Bright but she rejected me", Manny complained, "What does he have that I don't?"

"He's rich isn't he?", Luke asked, not exactly sure himself.

"Yeah", Manny agreed.

"He's really smart as well", Luke exclaimed, excited with the fact that he remembered.

"Everyone knows that", Manny said, looking at Alex and Zephyr having fun in the pool.

"He's handsome, I think", Luke muttered, not totally sure.

"So he's the whole package", Manny complained, "That's so unfair".

"He's really cool as well", Luke continued, ignoring Manny, "He's dope at soccer as well".

"Please stop", Manny demanded, "You're not making me feel better".

"Huh", Luke muttered, "I thought you wanted to know why Zephyr's cool".

Seeing Luke's limited intelligence, Manny said and leaned back on his recliner and placed the sunglasses in his breastpocket on his face. Luke shrugged at Manny's actions and returned to guarding the firecracker he had.

[Time Skip]

The horse ranch was nestled within rolling hills, its wooden fences stretching across the landscape. Neatly arranged stables lined the central courtyard, each one bearing the wear of years spent sheltering the majestic creatures that once inhabited them. The aroma of hay and leather lingered in the air, a testament to the countless hours spent tending to the needs of the horses.

Tall trees, their leaves painted with the hues of autumn, provided shade and a sense of tranquility to the ranch. A weathered barn stood at one end, its red paint faded by the sun's relentless touch. Inside, old tools and equipment lay dormant, relics of the ranch's active years.

Alex carefully positioned herself beside the sturdy steed, gauging the distance before placing her left foot into the waiting stirrup. With a steady hand on the saddle's pommel, she hoisted himself upwards, her body smoothly rising as her right leg swung over the horse's back. Once settled in the saddle, she adjusted her grip on the reins, ready to embark on her equestrian journey. The horse shifted slightly beneath her, adjusting to her weight.

"Zephyr!", Alex exclaimed, "I did it! I actually did it!".

"Well done", Zephyr congratulated, his horse strutting over to her, "You're doing great".

"Thanks", Alex said, a smile on her face. As the horse made a small sudden jolt, she tightened her hold on the reins.

"It's okay", Zephyr calmed her down, "You just need to be gentle and steer her in the direction you want".

Alex nodded her head, and took a deep breath. She listened to what he said and tried to direct the horse towards the left, unfortunately, she merely ended up completing a turn. "Zephyr. I think there's something wrong with my horse. It won't go forward".

"There's nothing wrong", Zephyr placated, "You need to give it a light kick with you heel for it to go forward".

"Okay", Alex released a sigh, and lightly tapped the belly of the horse with her heel, causing the horse to jerk forward. The sudden rapid movement surprised Alex, causing her to scream for a moment before remembering what Zephyr had taught her. Pulling back on the reins, the horse slowed down. Nodding, she pulled the reins towards the left with the horse following and slowly galloping left.

"You're doing it!", Zephyr cheered.

"She's finally on", Claire who had returned commented, seeing Alex.

"Yep", Zephyr replied, "I told you I'd get her to ride a horse".

"How though?", Claire asked, "She never listens to me".

"That's because I'm motivating her", Zephyr answered.

"With what?", Claire questioned.

"I told her that if she does everything I do, I'll give her a gift", Zephyr explained.

"What's the gift?", Claire inquired.

"A kiss", Zephyr explained, feeling proud of himself.

"I don't know why I even asked", Claire muttered under her breath.