Diary of a Country Girl

Chapter One:

Dear Diary:

Tre and I are home from our trip. We made so many memories and grew even closer together. I'm so happy he chose Tartosa. It's a place I've always dreamed of visiting. I pictured myself with a handsome man, dining al fresco at a little seaside ristorante. And there I was actually living the moment. It was beyond my wildest dreams. I'm not a glamorous girl, but it was fun pretending I was even for one night.

He booked us into a lovely villa on a bluff overlooking the bay. The views were simply breathtaking.

We didn't call it a honeymoon, not at first. By the end I felt like that's what it was. I don't regret eloping with Tre, but I'd still love to have a proper wedding when time allows.

My fairytale wedding can wait. The trip came along at the perfect time. Between finishing my degree and our move I've been so stressed out. It's hard to believe but the move is just a week away. There's so much we have to do but I'm feeling rested and ready. I'm so excited for all the wonderful things Tre and I have in mind for our new ranch. That's all for now. 

Dear diary:

Our trip to Tartosa feels like a lifetime ago. Yet it's only been three days since we got home. Last night we had a terrible storm come through Chestnut Ridge. Severe weather is not new to me. I've spent most of my life in this area. Last night's storm was one of the worst I can remember.

We were having a fun couples night. We were in the middle of a game of woo-who when the worst of the storm happened.

Storms like these are new to Tre. They don't have storms this bad in Del Sol Valley. I could tell he was worried but we kept playing woo-who. I had one eye on the TV in case they broke in with weather reports. Then I heard it coming. I've never been close to a tornado. But I just knew that one was coming. The sound was like nothing I've heard before. It was the most terrifying feeling. It was the middle of the night so we couldn't see it. We had no idea if it was going to hit us or miss us. 

We were lucky and the storm missed the little ranch. As soon as it passed we checked on the animals and thank God they were all safe and sound in the stable. Afterwards I had a sick feeling that we hadn't been entirely lucky. I told Tre we needed to go check on the new ranch. It was still dark but the lights of the pickup showed us enough. Our new home was right in the path. It was gone. As the sun started to rise we could see how bad it was.

We don't know what we're going to do. We're so thankful that no one was hurt. It could have been so much worse. We were just days away from moving in. A week later and we would have been here when it happened. We still had all of our most prized possessions with us at the little ranch. Insurance will pay for what we lost. But Tre and his handyman friends had worked so hard building our home. All that hard work was gone. We find comfort in knowing that we're both still alive. Nothing else matters. 

Recap, Part One:

After graduating art school Aurora went work as a freelance photographer in San Myshuno. She spent the rest of her time painting and selling what she made to galleries and collectors. She was doing good but she missed Chestnut Ridge. She packed her bags and headed home. She found a lovely old barn that had been renovated and made into a rental.

She and Piccolo quickly settled in. For Aurora it was like she'd never left.

She came home with the idea of using the peace and quiet, and lovely scenery to work on her art. If money allowed she wanted to travel and find beautiful scenes to paint. It didn't take long for that plan to start unraveling. She'd forgotten just how lovely Chestnut Ridge was. There was no shortage of beautiful scenes right there.

Aurora soon discovered a lucrative hobby that she enjoyed. She began handcrafting jewelry and gemstones that provided a nice income to supplement what she made from her paintings.

When she left San Myshuno she was just happy to be coming back to Chestnut Ridge. She remembered all the fun she had on her grandparent's little ranch, but she didn't intend to become a rancher like them. But as the days became weeks, and the weeks became months the lure was getting stronger. She made her way over to the Hay Now Equestrian center and got herself a horse, Peanut.

There was no turning back now. The farm and ranch life had reeled her back in.

Recap, Part Three

While Aurora and Tre's relationship slowly takes off, her side hustles begin paying off. Her paintings and jewelry are beginning to bring in some good money. With the extra income and her growing contentment with ranch life she spotted a lovely ranch for sale a short distance from town. It had a nice stable for Peanut and plenty of room for Piccolo. The picturesque views in Rider's Glen was the cherry on top. 

As an added bonus there was enough space for her to add a garden and even a chicken coop. She was fully into the ranch life now.

The decision to add a garden was beginning to look like her best business venture yet. She was just getting started but already the produce she was selling was in demand. As the weeks passed her gardening skill grew, her plants thrived and the money rolled in.

Her relationship with Tre was the only thing that didn't seem to be going anywhere. They hadn't set out to fall in love, but now Aurora was sure she was. Now if only she knew how Tre felt?

Recap Finale:

Tre sat Aurora down and explained the situation. She was convinced he'd lost his mind. The beautiful wedding she had dreamed of couldn't be put together in a week. It took half the night, but Tre finally convinced her to elope. She made him promise that he would make it up to her with a big wedding. And he had to give her a proper proposal.

With the conditions of the inheritance met they received their money. They put that money towards buying a large plot of land nearby where they would build their new ranch. They still had all winter to save more money for the move. Come spring Tre and his handyman friends would get to work building the new place. 

Meanwhile Aurora decided to go back to school and get a degree in biology. She felt it would help her improve the produce business, and allow her to take care of the animals. By this time Peanut and Aurora had become regular winners in all types of competitions. They were getting very close to Aurora's dream of winning the Ultimate Horse Championship.

Aurora enrolled for a distinguished degree in biology at Foxbury Institute. In a stroke of luck she was able to qualify for enough scholarships to earn a full ride. They were both elated since Aurora wouldn't need to dip into their bank account. The big question now was how were they going to handle her coursework and keep the ranch functioning?

It didn't take long to realize that they were going to need a ranch hand. Even with the extra help Aurora insisted on helping out around the ranch.

She was pushing herself hard. She gave her all to make sure her assignments were finished and that she had done her best. Term papers, presentations, and studying for final exams. She stayed up late into the night if needed.

Her hard work was paying off. She was maintaining an A+ average and well on her way to earning her distinguished degree. But there were some bumps in the road. The first ranch hands they hired were a complete disaster. Aurora had to fire one of them because they showed up to work and then never did any of the chores they were hired to do. After that the other hand texted Aurora and quit in anger because of the firing. That indirectly led to Tre and Aurora's first real fight as she finally reached her breaking point from the stress.

 Tre had purchased a Rootin' Fruitin' nectar maker without consulting her like they had discussed with big purchases. To make matters worse in her eyes, he had paid far more than it was worth. She had reached her breaking point and lashed out. But they talked things out and made up by the next morning. For her last two terms at Foxbury she was going to focus entirely on her studies. Tre and the new ranch hand would take care of everything else.

With things at home sorted out Aurora breezed through the final two terms and finished with an A+ average and a distinguished degree in biology.

Tre had planned a vacation and belated honeymoon to celebrate Aurora's graduation. They spent a few days in Tartosa soaking in the sun and basking in glow of their love. 

The story picks up with Aurora and Tre returning home to Chestnut Ridge. From this point on the story is going to be told mostly from Aurora's POV as diary entries. I hope you enjoy it. ❤️ 

Recap, Part Two

One of Aurora's favorite childhood memories was helping out around her grandparents ranch. One of her chores was helping look after the horses. She didn't think of working with the horses as chores, so loved them so much. It felt good to finally have a horse of her own. Peanut is a good horse with an easy going personality. She and Aurora bonded quickly during their rides around Chestnut Ridge. Piccolo comes along too some days.

Her barnyard family continues to grow with the addition of a mini sheep Cupcake. Aurora's mother and grandmother were very good equestrians and had raised and trained some fine horses. She had learned a lot from both of them so she recognized the signs in Peanut. She began training Peanut with an eye on something her mother and grandmother hadn't done, win the Ultimate Horse Championship. Both had come close though. 

Meanwhile she had spending her evenings at the Rusty Horseshoe. She picked up a side hustle cooking food for the other barfly's That's how she met a handsome, charming man who had recently arrived in town. He said his name was Tre.

Things started slowly between them. Both were hesitant and hadn't been looking for a long term relationship. They were happy to sit and talk the night away at The 'Shoe over food and drinks.

While things began slowly on the romance front, their friendship formed quickly. People in Chestnut Ridge had never treated Aurora, or her family, any different than anybody else. But it was still wonderful to find someone else who truly understood you.

Recap Part Four:

Aurora's doubts about Tre didn't get in the way of their having fun together. They still hung out even though he hadn't made any moves romantically. They enjoyed each other's company, but she wanted something more now. 

She was beginning to think the problem wasn't Tre, that it was her instead. Then one night Tre suggested they try something different. Not another night at the Rusty Horseshoe. They spent the night in Windenburg instead. It turned out to be the night that changed everything. By the time it was over Aurora had no doubts about Tre's love.

Within days Tre moved in. He was out of his element but determined to become a rancher. He turned out to be a quick, eager learner. It was a win/win for Aurora. She helped train him to ride horses and then helped him pick out one of his own, Nashville. 

Tre and Aurora share something else in common besides a love of horses and ranch life. Both of them are fitness fanatics. Aurora confided her craziest bucket list item, to climb Mt. Komorebi someday. Tre thought the whole thing sounded like fun. He began training with her at a rock climbing gym in San Sequoia. He eventually got his first taste of actual rock climbing with her on a day trip to Mt. Komorebi.

They both still have a lot of work to do building their rock climbing skills. Meanwhile Aurora added a crystal tree to her garden. The ranch kept her busy enough that she didn't have time to go gem hunting to supply her jewelry making business. Some of the extra gems she accumulated she sold for a nice profit. She and Tre were already discussing the possibility of a bigger ranch. They wanted to add cows and llamas to their barnyard family. They were even talking marriage and children too.

Aurora is really down to earth and practical, but she still had visions of a fairy tale wedding. It was only a matter of when not if they tied the knot. Then Tre got an interesting phone call. If got married within a week he would receive an inheritance. He was skeptical at first, but what did he have to lose? Even if it was all a hoax he'd be married to the woman he loved. Now he just had to convince her to go along with it.

Chapter Two

Dear Diary,

It's been two weeks now since the storm that destroyed our dream home. We knew it was bad but Tre still had hope that he and his friends could salvage it. Sadly there was too much damage. The guys put their hearts and souls into building it only to tear down what the storm hadn't. I don't want to sound ungrateful. Everyone in our family, and everyone in Chestnut Ridge, is safe and sound. So many wonderful people showed up to help us clean up. Seeing the lot empty again like it had been just months before was really sad. The ugly scar it left was going to take time to heal too.

The timing was horrible. Not that there is ever a good time for things like this. We were looking forward to so many new things. A nectar making business, larger garden, and more animals. Those plans are on hold. Fall has arrived and the guys only had time to clear the lot so that they can get to work again in the spring. While they cleaned up the mess Onyx helped me tend the little ranch. He's been a great ranch hand and a real blessing, even before the storm. He stepped up even more after.

We're spending our evenings looking over new floor plans. We haven't decided yet if we're going to build the same one again. We had others that we loved as well before. We're taking our time to look at them again. There's something very comforting and healing about looking at those plans with Tre. I've shed a lot of tears over what we lost and everything we came so close to losing. When I'm with Tre I feel like everything is going to be alright.

Sometimes at night I can hear the tornado all over again. That terrifying sound haunts my dreams. When it does I get up and go to the computer. I’ve been working on a surprise for Tre. I know having to tear down the house he and his friends worked so hard on hurts him. Though he doesn't say it.  He did the sweetest thing for me when I was stressed to my breaking point with classes. He gave me the trip to Tartosa. I want to do something like it for him. 

His mother is from Ciudad Enamorada. Tre has mentioned to me how much he wants to go visit someday. Our anniversary is coming up. I'm working on a plan to make our anniversary the someday he was thinking of. I've been emailing and video chatting with his mother, Consuela, for help. When he's out of the house I video chat with her. Tre and I video chat with her often. But for my little surprise Consuela and I wait until Tre's out of the house to talk.

It's really ingrained into Western culture about women hating their mother-in-laws. I'm definitely not one of them. Consuela is a doll and I absolutely love her. She's exactly like my mom, except for the Spanish accent. I regret that we haven't met face-to-face yet. I'm looking forward to doing that soon. In the meantime when we aren’t video chatting about the trip, she’s teaching me Spanish and how to make all of her best dishes. And Tre’s favorites. 

Hihi. I'm just dropping in to let everyone know what's happening. I've been waiting for some bug fixes, which we got. But I'm still waiting on one mod update before I get back to playing this save. Hopefully that update will happen soon.🤞

DaniRose2143

Love the title for Aurora's story. Can't wait to start reading her diary.