Crossover 'The Chosen One Trilogy: Book One' Read online

  I finished my beer and got up. “Well, I’d better head home. I’ll see you tomorrow, Shay.”

  “See you!”

  I hopped into the truck and headed home.

  When I got there, a note from my parents on the kitchen counter let me know that they had gone out with some friends and would be home late.

  I started thinking about my plans to get my own apartment this summer. It definitely was going to be a big change from living at home. My best friend, Tara, had offered that I move in with her and her boyfriend, Ben. It would have been a lot cheaper to share costs, but the reason I wanted out of my parent’s place was so I could be alone. Tara and I had been friends for quite a few years. She had moved here at the beginning of grade ten, I had been in grade nine.

  I remembered how I had been sitting out in the school yard during lunch hour. I had my art pad and was working on a drawing of a horse jumping over a fence.

  “You like horses?”

  I had jumped at the voice coming from behind me. I nodded shyly at the blond girl.

  “I have a mare. Her name is Foxy. Do you jump?”

  “No. I rein. I have a little bay named Dodge.”

  “Nice! I rein too. I just moved here. Foxy should get here this weekend. I’m keeping her at the arena just north of town.”

  I smiled. “That’s where I keep Dodge.”

  We had immediately hit it off and had been best friends ever since.

  I headed up to my room, turned the radio on, and settled at my desk to work on my most recent drawing of a horse. After staring at my paper for a good ten minutes I turned the page on my art pad. My pencil came to rest on the paper as I tried to figure out what I wanted to draw. I started with one tree, then another, until soon a forest was appearing on my page. Through that forest ran a trail and at the end of the trail was a hill.

  I stopped. I had never drawn from memory before. I put the pencil back on the paper on top of the hill. Yet here my memory failed. I remembered his eyes so blue they could have been filled with the sky. The rest was a blank.

  Had he been handsome? I’m pretty sure he hadn’t been naked! I would have remembered that! So what had he been wearing?

  The intensity of his stare was impossible to get right. I sat and stared at my page a bit longer and decided I wasn’t going to remember any more details tonight. I slipped into my sweats and a t-shirt and went to bed.

  *****

  He lay with his arms behind his head and looked up into the darkening sky. A frog croaked to his left. He tensed at the sound then chuckled to himself. What was wrong with him, he wondered. He had stood at the top of the hill and looked down on the girl, unable to move. It was her eyes. They were unbelievable. It was like they had been peering into his very being. He had been caught in her gaze. Trapped. The urge to go down to her had been overwhelming. But she had blinked and he had been able to regain control of himself, to get off the path and out of sight.

  He had heard that it could be like that. Getting thrown off balance by a look. He groaned at the memory. The urge to go to her. To look deeply into those mesmerizing eyes and watch their reaction if he were to press his lips against hers.

  A heavy feeling settled on his chest and he stretched to get rid of it. Maybe he should have gone to see her. What if she didn’t come back?

  A growl made its way up his throat and he shook his head. She’d be back. If that look had had anywhere near the impact on her as it had on him, she would be back.

  Stick to the plan, he thought to himself. If it could really be considered a plan.

  *****

  I woke up Saturday morning around seven thirty just like every morning. I could smell coffee brewing downstairs which meant my dad was up.

  “Morning, Hayden”

  “Morning, Dad.” I popped some raisin bread into the toaster. “How was poker night?” I asked as I poured myself a cup of coffee and stirred in some sugar and cream.

  “Not bad. Steve cleaned up as usual,” he chuckled. “But your mom surprised us and actually won a few hands!”

  My mom poked her head into the kitchen and grinned. “I told you. I always knew how to play. I was just letting you guys win!” She gave my dad a playful shove with her hip as she walked by him.

  My toast popped up and I quickly moved them to the counter before they could burn my fingers.

  “I’m going to the arena for the day. Dale is having a lesson this morning and I want to work on lead changes with Lena. She’s giving a bit of trouble with the left one and I’m hoping he can give me a hand. Then Shaynna is going to meet me out there and we’re going to the bridge for a picnic.”

  Dad nodded. “Sounds good. Will you be home for supper?”

  I shook my head. “We’re all going to Tara’s tonight to watch movies. If it gets too late I’ll just crash there.”

  “Ok, honey. Have fun. Let us know if you decide to spend the night there.”

  I nodded and started throwing a lunch into a bag. “Will do, Mom.”

  The arrangement I had with my parents was a great one. My rent was cheap and as long as they knew where I was, they really didn’t care too much what I was doing. Some of my friends thought it funny that I would phone and let them know if my plans had changed, but I thought it was the least I could do. They did let me stay with them after all, their way of ensuring I wasn’t a totally starving student.

  I ran upstairs and jumped into my wranglers and a khaki green tank top then headed out the door.

  “Bye, mom. Bye, dad.”

  “Hayden, your cell phone!” My dad tossed it to me. I clipped it to my belt.

  “See ya!”

  I checked the clock on my dash as I started my truck. Nine o’clock.

  “Perfect timing.”

  I rolled up to the arena ten minutes later. John, the barn’s manager, was having coffee in the cafeteria with the two stable hands, Carl and Steve.

  “Hey, guys!”

  “Hey, Hayden.” John smiled. He was a short, thick man in his sixties with a full head of white hair.

  “John, do you mind if I put my lunch in the fridge?”

  “Nope. Go ahead.”

  “Thanks. Is Dale here yet?”

  “Not yet. But he said something about having the lesson outside if it was nice. Tara and Ben are already out there.”

  “Ok. See you later!” I headed to the barn and made my way to Dodge’s stall. I took down the note I had left for John asking him to keep Dodge in this morning.

  “Hey, Buddy.” I picked a piece of straw out of his forelock and fed him a crunchy. “I’ll be back after the lesson.”

  I moved on to Lena’s stall and got her ready. Once she was saddled we made our way outside to join the other reiners that trained with Dale.

  Tara was loping a smooth circle at the far end of the arena, her dirty blond hair pulled back into a ponytail. She looked up and her caramel colored eyes squinted in the sun. Foxy, her sorrel mare, stopped quickly when she was asked. Ben was on his gelding, Baldy, a big brown and white paint with brown eyes that matched Ben’s. Ben ran a hand through his light brown hair and shook out pollen fuzz that had landed on his head.

  We waited another ten minutes while four other riders either walked over from the barn or pulled up with their trailers.

  Dale pulled up with his trailer and walked one of his colts off.

  By ten o’clock the lesson was underway. By noon, we were all sweating and hungry.

  “Ok, guys!” Dale dismissed us. “Have a good weekend. I’ll be here at six on Wednesday if you want to get one more in before next weekend. And remember, we are leaving at four on Friday so we can get to Carefree Stables early enough to have a quick lesson before we bed the horses down for the night. Joan, try to make sure you’re there for that one, it will give Spike some time to get used to being away from home.”

  I hopped off of Lena and loosened her cinch. We headed back to her stall where she ate her oats while I unsaddled and brushed her.

 
“I’ll be right back,” I told Dodge as I passed his stall to go grab the lunch out of the fridge. I passed Shaynna saddling Macho.

  “Meet you outside,” she said.

  I got back to Dodge’s stall, saddled him, and tied the saddle bags on. He quietly followed me down the aisle and we made our way outside where I swung on and gave his neck a pat.

  We headed out at a walk, taking our time in the warm afternoon. An hour later we were at the bridge.

  “Man, I’m starving!” I stripped Dodge’s saddle off and put his hobbles on so he could wander around and eat grass.

  We were almost done eating when Shaynna’s phone rang. She talked for a few minutes, a big grin on her face.

  “That was Shawn. He’s in town today and wants to take me out to dinner and a movie.” She beamed. Was it really possible to be that happy? For her sake, I hoped so. “Do you mind if we start heading back? I need to have a shower and dress up a bit.”

  “Sure. I want to show you that trail on the way back. Should I tell Tara you’re ditching on movie night tonight?” I smiled when she blushed.

  “I totally forgot about that!”

  “That’s ok. I’m sure she’ll understand. Ever since she and Ben have started dating, she’s been just as annoying as you with this mushy stuff!”

  She laughed. “You know, Hayden. One of these days you’ll meet some guy who is more interesting than Dodge.” She frowned a bit. “And who isn’t a total jackass.” Her mood lightened a bit and she grinned at me. “And when that happens, I will be the first to say I told you so!”

  I laughed with her, but shook my head. “Don’t hold your breath!”

  The horses saddled, we started out past the bridge. We took a left at the forks and got the horses into a jog.

  “So where’s this mystery trail of yours?”

  “It should be just up ahead. It was just after the clearing.”

  Two minutes later we were past the clearing. Ten minutes later there was still no trail.

  “I could have sworn I saw a trail yesterday!”

  “Maybe you were daydreaming. You know you do that a lot.” She laughed.

  “Maybe.” But I didn’t think so.

  Shay’s phone went off again. I rolled my eyes for her benefit and smiled.

  “Yeah. She’s here. Hang on.” She reined Macho in closer to Dodge and handed me her phone. “It’s Tara.”

  “Hello?’

  “Hayden, where’s your phone? I’ve been trying to get a hold of you. I have to cancel for tonight. My pharmacology class is having a study session. I hope that’s ok.”

  “Sure. No problem. I should really study for finals anyway. Speaking of that, can I still borrow your genetics notes from last year? There are a few classes I know I missed.”

  “Ok. I’ll drop them off at your house when I leave later.”

  “Sounds good.”

  Tara was a year ahead of me in the vet med program.

  I handed Shay her phone back.

  I looked at my side for my phone, but it wasn’t there.

  “Hang on, Shay.” I stopped and hopped off of Dodge and went through my saddle bags. “Crap.”

  “What is it?”

  “I must have dropped my phone by the bridge.” I looked back along the trail. “Why don’t you just go ahead? I’ll run back and get my phone. We wouldn’t want you to be late for your date!” I teased her.

  “Are you sure?”

  “Go. I shouldn’t be too far behind you anyway.”

  “Ok. I’ll talk to you tomorrow.”

  “Have fun!”

  She smiled and turned Macho back towards the barns. I swung back up onto Dodge and turned him towards the bridge. “Sorry, Buddy. I’ll make it up to you when we get back. Extra oats and some molasses, promise.”

  When we got to the bridge it took me all of three seconds to find my phone. It was sitting under the tree where the saddles had been leaning.

  “All right, Dodge. Let’s head home.” We trotted over the bridge, took the left fork, and passed through the meadow. Dodge stopped short almost causing me to go over his head.

  You really have to stop daydreaming! I scowled at myself.

  I straightened myself up and looked around to see what had taken Dodge by surprise. My jaw dropped. The trail was back!

  “How is that even possible?” I had just been here with Shay and the trail had been nowhere to be found. I looked to the top of the hill, thinking he would be waiting. I was surprised at how disappointed I was that he wasn’t there.

  Dodge took a few steps forward onto the narrow trail, then stopped and pricked his ears back at me as if to ask if he should go on.

  “Well, I guess we have a bit of time now that everything got cancelled. But not to long.” He seemed happy with that and started forward again.

  It was a beautiful trail and I lost track of time as we wandered down it. Up ahead, the sun seemed brighter. The trees started thinning and we went along until we were in a beautiful meadow. The grass was chest high on Dodge. And there were flowers of every color imaginable. At the far end was a clear blue creek that ran down a hill.

  “Wow! This is great!” Dodge wasn’t listening. He was too busy picking off the tips of the grass around him.

  I caught my breath at almost the exact moment Dodge’s head snapped up to look at the far end of the meadow. There, sitting on a large rock by the creek, was the man I had seen on the hill.

  He was staring, his eyes slightly narrowed, as if he was deep in thought. I stared back, unable to do anything else. For me, the meadow was gone. All that existed were his eyes. The light headed feeling came again and I reminded myself to breath. I inhaled slowly, not wanting a repeat of yesterday.

  Dodge took a few steps forward. I saw the man tense and got Dodge to stop. I broke my eyes away from his and took the time to notice the features which had escaped my memory the previous day. His face was beautiful. A strong jaw, high cheek bones, slightly slanted eyes and a nose that showed evidence of having been broken at one point were all surrounded by messy, dark brown curls and a couple days stubble. He was wearing khaki colored pants and a white cotton shirt that seemed to cling to every muscle in his arms, chest, and shoulders as the breeze blew it against his body.

  He stood in one fluid motion. It was so fast I expected him to dash away. Instead, he walked over slowly, like he was unsure of what he should do. The closer he got, the more perfect he looked.

  He stopped a few horse lengths ahead of Dodge.

  “Hello.”

  My jaw dropped. His voice was unbelievable. It was deep and soft. Shivers went down my back.

  He smiled. “Are you alright?”

  I snapped my mouth shut. God, I’m an idiot! I thought to myself. To him I said, “I’m fine. I’m just a little surprised to see anyone out here.”

  His grin got bigger. He walked closer and put a hand on Dodge’s nose. “Nice horse.”

  “Thanks. His name is Dodge.”

  He stroked Dodge’s face, staring intently at him. After a brief moment he nodded, the movement so small I wasn’t sure I had seen it. He looked up at me.

  “I’m Jasper.”

  “I’m Hayden.” I blushed. “So do you do a lot of hiking?”

  He looked confused.

  “I just thought, you know. That’s two days I see you on the trails and there isn’t much out here...” my voice trailed off as his eyes continued to stare into mine and I forgot what I was saying.

  “Oh. Yes.” He smiled. “I love hiking. It gives me time to think.”

  “So are there any nice spots around here?” I wanted to keep him talking so he wouldn’t say he had to go.

  “There’s a little waterfall just few minutes away. Would you like to see it?”

  I glanced at my watch. Three o’clock. “Sure. I have a bit of time before I have to head back.”

  He started leading the way and I followed behind on Dodge. A little voice in the back of my head tried to talk some sense into me.<
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  That’s it, Hayden. Let’s go deeper into the woods with the strange man...

  “How old are you?” I asked, trying to shut out the little voice.

  “Twenty-eight. You?”

  “Twenty-three.”

  He looked back at me and smiled. “Almost there.” We had taken another, smaller trail by the creek. As we moved further along the sound of the waterfall got clearer.

  “Oh! Wow! It’s beautiful!”

  The waterfall wasn’t big, but it was clear and the water shone like diamonds where the sunlight hit it. There was a little pond at the base of the waterfall and it was surrounded by a perfect white sanded beach.

  “You like it?” Jasper asked. He seemed please.

  “I love it!” I swung off of Dodge and simply stood staring at the water.

  Jasper was looking at Dodge again. After a few thoughtful minutes he shook his head.

  “What’s wrong?” I asked him.

  He looked at me, surprised. “Nothing. Just thinking.” He sat on the sand and patted the ground beside him.

  “I don’t think I have time.” I looked at my watch. Three o’clock. “Hey, do you have the time? I think my watch is broken.”

  “No. Sorry.”

  I pulled my cell phone out and looked at the time on the screen. Three o’clock.

  “Well, that’s weird.” I muttered.

  “What is?” He looked up at me from the ground.

  “When I checked the time a little while ago it was three o’clock. Now both my watch and my cell phone say three o’clock still.”

  He shrugged. “Maybe you read it wrong the first time.”

  “Maybe. But I don’t think so.” I looked down at him and decided I wasn’t quite ready to leave.

  He smiled as I sat down. “So, Hayden. What else do you do besides ride through trails?”

  I glanced at him, wondering just how much information I should give him. “Well, I’m taking Vet Med at the university, for one.”

  He nodded and looked impressed.

  “I also train horses in my spare time. Other than that, not much. You?”

  He looked surprised I was interested. “Um...well. I’m in the army.”

  “Wow! That’s great! I thought of joining when I was younger. We had a career day in high school and all these different schools and professions had booths set up... It was a toss-up between the army or the police force.” I laughed. “But I’ve always liked animals better than people.”