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After a four-hour train journey and a ten-hour flight, I landed in Austin. I couldn’t quite believe that I was here. Saying goodbye to my parents had been hard. They had been my rock for the past few months, and I was going to miss them like crazy. The flight that I had been dreading had actually been okay. It was long and tiring, but I had managed to read quite a bit, so that had been a bonus. I was glad it was over, though.
I switched my phone on as I waited for my luggage, sending my Mum a quick message to say that I had landed and that I would call her tomorrow. My phone chimed with a message. It was from my Aunt Claire.
Aunt Claire: Hi Libby, I’m waiting in arrivals can’t wait to see you xx
I sent her a quick reply back, telling her that I would be out as soon as I had my suitcase and that I couldn’t wait to see her either. If I was honest, I was a bit nervous. Although I’d spoken to Aunt Claire on the phone over the years, it had been four years since I’d actually seen her. They had planned to come and see us in the UK a couple of years ago, but Uncle Ryan’s Dad had passed away and left them the ranch, so they had been too busy working to come.
About ten minutes later I walked into arrivals, looking around for her. She squealed and waved when she saw me, throwing her arms around me when I’d made my way through the crowds to her.
“Libby! It’s so good to see you. How was your flight, honey?” She asked, grabbing my suitcase and leaving me with my hand luggage.
“Hi, my flight was good thanks. I’m glad it’s over.” I replied quietly.
“You must be exhausted, come on, we’ll get you in the car and back home.” She said, motioning for me to follow her. “Savannah is so excited to see you. She wanted to come with me to pick you up, but she wasn’t home from college in time. She’ll be home when we get back, though.”
“I’m looking forward to seeing her too.” I followed her through the airport. The humid air hit me as we went outside. “Wow, it’s warm.”
“This is nothing sweetie, it's cooling down a bit now, wait until tomorrow. You’re going to need all those summer clothes your Mum said you’d brought. It’s a bit different to April in the UK, isn’t it?” She said laughing.
“Just a bit! It's freezing at home. I’m looking forward to some sun.”
Claire came to a stop next to a large black pickup truck. She took my hand luggage case off me and put it, along with my suitcase, on the back seat.
“Climb in sweetie.” She said.
I took a deep breath and climbed into the passenger seat, quickly putting my seatbelt on.
“Thank you for having me come and stay with you, Aunt Claire. I didn’t realise how much I needed a break until my parents suggested that I come.”
She leaned across the console and squeezed my hand. “No need to thank me, Libby, you’re welcome anytime. We know what a tough few months you’ve had, and we’ll do anything we can to help. I’m a good listener if you ever feel that you want to talk about anything. No pressure, but the offer is there if you want it.” She said smiling at me.
I gave her a small smile in response. “I should probably warn you.” I paused, wringing my hands nervously. “I don’t always sleep very well, and sometimes I have nightmares. I can be quite loud. I know how early you have to get up, so I really hope that I don’t wake everyone.”
“Oh, sweetie. Your Mum has told me about your nightmares, and I don’t want you to worry about waking us up. If it happens it happens, please don’t feel bad about it. She also reminded me how you can sometimes struggle in the car, were about an hour from home so if you want me to pull over at any point, just let me know.”
I nodded in response, and Aunt Claire pulled out of the car park. I concentrated on my breathing and closed my eyes. I really wanted to look out of the window and see where we were going, but I didn’t want to have a panic attack on my first day here. I must have fallen asleep as the next thing I knew Aunt Claire was nudging me awake.
“Libby, honey, we’ve just gone through Marble Falls, were about five minutes from the ranch,” She said.
“I can’t believe I fell asleep, I’m normally a nervous wreck in the car!” I told her, looking around at where we were.
“It must be my excellent driving.” She said laughing. “It’s the middle of the night at home, though, you must be exhausted from the travelling. Your Mum said you were getting up at 5 am to catch the train, it’s been a long day for you.”
“It has been a pretty long day…” I paused. “The last time I fell asleep in the car…” I trailed off, looking out of the window at the fields flying past the window.
“I know honey. That isn’t going to happen again. You’re safe.” She reached over and patted her hand on my knee. “Look we’re here now.” She said motioning with her hand for me to look.
I turned and saw a sign that read ‘Wild Oak Ranch and Retreat.' We turned off the main road and drove up a winding driveway that led to the house. Oak trees lined the way, and it was easy to see where the name for the ranch had come from.
We must have been driving up the dusty driveway for about half a mile before it opened out and I saw the huge ranch house where my Aunt and Uncle lived. Their house was incredible. It was two stories and had an amazing wraparound porch. I could see a porch swing off to the left of the steps that led to the front door. I was looking forward to sitting on that swing curled up with a book. There were flower beds on either side of the steps that were filled with colourful wildflowers, and a white picket fence that went all the way around the lawn.
I looked to my left and saw the barns and stables where they kept the horses. In the distance, I could see a smaller, but equally impressive house along with log cabins where guests holidaying at the ranch stayed. A group of about ten people were just coming out of the barn talking and laughing.
“They’ve just got back from horseback riding down by the river.” I heard Aunt Claire say. “It’s one of the activities we offer to guests. We haven’t got many guests staying at the moment, about fifteen or so. April is a quiet time for us, but numbers will pick up the closer we get to the summer months. Come on, let’s get you settled in your room and then I’ll show you around.”
She jumped out of the car and grabbed my suitcases from the back, suddenly the front door flung open, and Savannah flew down the steps towards me.
“Libby! You’re here” She screeched throwing her arms around me.
