Read Rough in the Saddle for Free Online Page B

got in the shower, needing to start her day and
job hunt.
    An
hour later and she was buttoning her shirt up, showered, had her face on, and
stared at herself in the mirror. She looked
semi-decent now. She decided to put her hair in a twist so it was out of her
way, and headed downstairs. After getting a cup of coffee, nearly scalding her
mouth in the process, she was seriously considering just heading back to bed
and sleeping the rest of the day away. But the money in her savings would only
last her so long, and she really did need work. She opened the front door, the
sun blinding her for a moment, and the sound of … nothing surrounding her.
    Even
though her grandmother’s home was in town, it was strangely quiet. Or maybe it
was just that Pearl was so used to the sound of cars driving by, horns honking,
and the electrically charged atmosphere that came with living in a city? She
looked around, saw a few people across the street walking their dogs, a kid
riding his bike, and felt like she was transported back to some weird scene
from Pleasantville . The couple
stopped what they were doing and looked her way, lifted their hands and waved, their smiles bright even in the distance. Pearl waved
back, and this strange feeling of fitting right in although she really wasn’t a
resident of Granite came rushing through her. These people accepted her, and
they hardly knew her, if at all.
    In
the city she’d just been another person, sometimes having looks thrown at her
because she was of a darker complexion. Yes, even in this day and age she still
got the stares from people as she walked down the street, or hell, when she was
with one of her previous boyfriends. Pearl liked dating white men, and because
she was of color to say she got these ignorant stares was an understatement.
There were so many people that were closed-minded concerning skin color that
all they could see was some kind of abomination. It was ludicrous, and even if
Pearl lived her life the way she wanted to, that didn’t mean it didn’t piss her
off.
    To
be honest she’d expected even more funky looks when she came here. This was an
older town, set in its ways, and the majority of the population was elderly
white residents. Yes, there were some African-American residents, but she was
being stereotypical right now in thinking they would have not taken to her
presence right away. That was a shame on her. Now she felt like the biggest
bitch in the world.
    They
were nice to her, welcomed her, even at the bar. She could make this place her
home, enjoy her serenity and comfort here, and forget about all the negative
shit that had happened back in the city. She felt resolve, and told herself
she’d give this place her one hundred and ten percent focus and try to make it
work out. She didn’t have a choice, but that didn’t mean she had to be sour
about it. She picked up the paper and looked down.
    The
front page of the Granite Times was a
story of a little dog that had gotten hit by a car in the middle of the night.
Fortunately the dog was okay, and recuperating in the
local vet hospital. She couldn’t help but smile at the thought that this was
breaking news in this town, but it was also comforting. In the city the
breaking news stories had been about murders, suicides, and senseless crimes.
    “Hi.”
The soft, feminine voice came right in front of Pearl, and she lifted her head
from the paper. The young woman in front of her held a wiener dog, one that was
squirming to get out of her hold. Its tail went crazy, moving back and forth as
its tongue hung out of its mouth in excitement.
    “Hi,”
Pearl answered and saw a wad of saliva fly from the dog’s mouth and land on the
cement.
    “Hot
Dog, chill out.” the woman said to her dog, but that just made the pup squirm
even more wildly. “I’m your neighbor, well, was Shirley’s neighbor for the last
five years.” The woman walked up closer to Pearl. She held her hand out. “I’m
Brooklyn Jacks.” She