Chapter Text
Aiden hopped out of the vehicle, looking around at the bright and sunny plains. Jeez, his dad wasn’t kidding, this place did seem like a ghost town if you weren’t looking closely. He whistled as he wiped his forehead, turning around to grab his harmonica, immediately playing a couple of notes on it as he walked around, rounding around to the front to play for the horses inside the trailer. Tons of folks say there’s nothing wrong with the West and that it’s a peaceful place to live, but Aiden has read that many years back, there were a ton of bandits during the “Wild West” era. He thought it was cool, but his family would have been targets if it weren’t for the 1885 bill. Anyways, Aiden kept on playing until his father called him over.
“Aiden, quit playing that darn harmonica and help your old man get our belongings inside our home!” His dad yelled, carrying some luggage towards the average-looking home. Ever since the stupid Great War started 2 years back, his folks had been worried about an attack happening. It only took 2 years of panic talking and messages being exchanged by mail to convince his parents to move their small family of 3 to the deep west. Aiden didn’t complain much; it meant he got to see his cousin, Ben, more.
.
As Aiden dropped off his bags in his new forever room, he took a quick glimpse outside the window and saw something…interesting. It was a cowboy riding his horse out in the fields, herding a few sheep–wait, no, the cowboy was rounding them up! Seems like they got out. The man had a really cool hat, outfit, and boots! Aiden was in pure awe.
“Wow.” He muttered, whistling as he opened up his window to get a better view. He’d never seen sheep this close before, but he knew that they usually followed a leader; if one sheep got out the fence, all the rest would follow. Such weird creatures, depending on a leader to live life. Aiden supposed that was why they were good herding animals, though. He wondered if you could train a sheep like you would with dogs.
As he kept watching, the mysterious cowboy looked up in his direction, almost as if he sensed Aiden watching him. That made Aiden jump a little, almost stumbling away from the window. But the cowboy just tipped his hat at him, soon turning away to herd his sheep back to wherever his ranch was. That was so cool.
..
“Thanks again for having us over for dinner, Naomi. It’s been a rough journey down from the north.” Jessica chuckled, settling down her hat on the hat rack. Aiden immediately greeted Ben first, his favorite and only cousin. He seemed like he would be in those cool motion pictures about western boys with his height and rugged look.
“No need to thank us, we’re just doing what any family should do for their own!” Naomi laughed, hugging her sister. They rarely got to see each other in person, so moments like this were always great, especially now that they’d get to see each other more often. Everyone sat down at the dining table, eating their meals while chit-chatting about random adult things.
“Wow, I’d never expect to see a real car in person. How much did it cost?” William (Aiden’s uncle) asked.
“Oh, it wasn’t much! Just about $150!” Daniel laughed, taking a sip of his wine. Yeah, to him, it was nothing. That was a lot of money for the average person. It was especially impressive since it traveled long distances. Anyone would kill for one of these models.
“Hey, you wanna look around town tomorrow morning? I know some great spots to hang out.” Ben asked, passing the gravy to Aiden. He immediately grinned, nodding his head eagerly. This was going to be so cool.
“Yeah! Are there people our age here?” He asked, bouncing his leg as he awaited an answer. When he said that, he meant people who were COOL and their age.
“Yup, I’m friends with them.”
“How many?”
“Only 4, but we’re still a good group.”
“Sweet.”
…
After hours of spending time with Ben, it was time to head back down the road. His family bid them farewell, and they walked back to their house.
“Woo, it’s hot tonight. I should have brought my fan…” Aiden’s mom complained, fanning herself with her hand.
“Should have thought of that before you chose that outfit.” His dad teased her, earning a pinch from her. Aiden rolled his eyes, burying his hands into his pockets as he whistled. This was a pretty nice town, there was a genuine community here. Some folks earlier that day came by with sweets and gifts. He assumed no one moved in often, so it was a nice gift when people did.
.
As Aiden laid in his bed, he couldn’t help but think back to the mysterious cowboy from earlier. He sort of forgot about him when he went to Ben’s home, so remembering him now made him mad since he couldn’t ask Ben right this second. But lucky for him, Ben was coming bright and early tomorrow, so he could ask him when the time came.
Hopefully, if he was lucky, maybe he could see the ranch the cowboy owned.