Tina’s life on the ranch was relatively quiet.  Every morning she’d gets up early, and put her riding gear on and gets Shiraz from the stables and go for an hour ride.  She wanted to train Shiraz and get him used to the area and to the ranch.  Shiraz was a very young and strong horse but he had a wild streak in him.  Tina loved him from the moment she saw him and every day she thanks her family for such a gift.  She loved him and doted on him as if he was Storm and more.

America was progressing nicely at school and she had her friend staying with her over night.  She was so happy to make a new friend and Tina allowed her friend to visit the staples and to ride America’s pony.  Jessica was the same age as America.  She was a little taller and much darker.  She told America that here mother was originally from Italy and that explains the Latin features Jessica had.  She has inherited her mother’s features with dark hair and green eyes.  She was a lovely girl and her and America became best friends very quickly.  Tina was very happy for her daughter and she didn’t make much of it.  She was happy that America could at last have a best friend.  She worried about her all the time but now she knows that she is capable of making friends and engaging with other people’s lives.  She worried that the ranch was keeping her from progressing normally.  Jessica and America left for school on Monday morning having spent the whole weekend with them.  She said her goodbyes to Tina and promised to ask her mother if she could visit again.  Tina was pleased and asked her to invite her mother along too.   

Life was going great on the farm for Tina and all of her family. She employed a young woman, Sania to help on the ranch.  A university graduate with Agricultural and farming degree.  Sania was very enthusiastic and had a lot of energy. She was funny and very easy to get on with, she also was, Tina noticed, from a mixed race and that’s what made her look really attractive and quite the beauty too.  She had curly, thick, black hair and she wore it long.  She also was taller than Tina, younger and much stronger too.  She had a mysterious look about her that made her look about her which intrigued Tina. 

Tina didn’t know much about her but she looked quite honest and she liked her without knowing why and hired her straight away.

Sania was very efficient and never complained about the heavy load of work that was laid on her shoulders.  She listened and followed Tinas instruction to the finest details going out of her ways to please her boss.  Tina was very happy with her choice and America had a new friend straight away.

Sania did a good job on the ranch she helped Dave too, with all the chores and she liked her job a lot and was happy to be on the ranch.  Dave was happy too to have someone helping him and Tina with the ranch’s duties.  He treated Sania as equal and they both shared the responsibilities and the duties equally too. They all mucked in with Tina helping as much as her time allowed her and the ranch was running smoothly.

Tina decided to let Sania stay in the worker’squarters until they finish building the extension on the house, joining it all together and making it all as one big house.  Tina was also adding another attachment to the house in the shape of an independent smaller house for her and America.  She wanted her daughter to feel safe and secure and to have her own space where she could be as free as she’d like. Also Tina wanted to spend time with her daughter without any interference.  America was growing into a beautiful young woman and Tina wanted to spend more time with her, playing, cooking, reading, bonding and everything else a mother should do with her daughter.  She invited other kids to stay with them over the holidays and let America take them to the ranch to see the animals and to ride the pony.  She let them collect eggs and feed the goats, she also showed them how to milk the cows and she gave them a chance to try for themselves which was quite funny sometimes, but it made America very very happy and that is all what Tina wanted.