Breaking Fences (The Breaking Series)

BOOK: Breaking Fences (The Breaking Series)
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Contents

Title Page

Copyright

Dedication

Dictionary

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Twelve

Chapter Thirteen

Chapter Fourteen

Chapter Fifteen

Chapter Sixteen

Chapter Seveteen

Chapter Eighteen

Chapter Nineteen

Chapter Twenty

Chapter Twenty-One

Chapter Twenty-Two

Chapter Twenty-Three

Chapter Twenty-Four

Chapter Twenty-Five

Chapter Twenty-Six

Chapter Twenty-Seven

Chapter Twenty- Eigth

Chapter Twenty-Nine

Chapter Thirty

Chapter Thirty-One

Chapter Thirty-Two

Chapter Thirty-Three

Eight Weeks Later

Acknowledgments

About the Author

Other Books

 

 

 

Breaking Fences

 

by

 

Juliana Haygert

This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

Copyright © 2014 by Juliana Haygert.

All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the publisher except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

Manufactured in the United States of America.

First Edition June 2014

www.JulianaHaygert.com

Edited by H. Danielle Crabtree

Cover design by Sarah Hansen/Okay Creations

The author acknowledges the copyrighted or trademarked status and trademark owners of the following brands mentioned in this work of fiction: Jeep, Grand Cherokee, Lucchese, Victoria’s Secret, Tommy Hilfiger, Miss America, Coke, Panera Bread, Starbucks, Mercedes, McDonald’s, Johnnie Walker, Jell-O, iPad, Disney, Pixar, Nickelback.

 

 

 

To all readers who asked for more stories in

the Breaking the Reins’ world.

Dictionary: Portuguese - English

 

Note that some words and expression don’t have a perfect literal translation. The translation you see here is the one that fits the context of this novel.

 

If you prefer, you can
click here
to download or print this dictionary.

 

Ainda bem – thank goodness

Beijinho – a sweet made with condensed sweetened milk

Bem – well

Boa sorte – good luck

Bom dia – good morning

Bombacha – gaucho pants

Branquinho – same as Beijinho

Brigadeiro – a sweet made with condensed sweetened milk and cocoa powder

Caf
é
colonial – continental breakfast

Carreteiro – dish made with rice and steak

Chato – a call name for someone who annoys you

Churrasco – Brazilian barbecue

Credo – jeez/damn

Droga – crap

Eita – whoa

Eu te amo – I love you

Feijoada – dish made with black beans

Filha da puta (daughter of a bitch), mimada (spoiled), china (it’s like
prenda
, but in a bad way), rapariga sem vergonha (girl without shame), invejosa (jealous) – ways of insulting other women/girls

Gra
ç
as a Deus – thank God, thank goodness

Grande coisa – whatever

Ga
ú
cho(a) – people born in the South of Brazil

Guria – girl

Idiota – idiot

Irm
ã
– sister

Irm
ã
zinha – little sister

M
ã
e – mother

Merda – shit

Meu Deus – my God

Negrinho – same as Brigadeiro

O que – what

Obrigada/o – thanks

Oi – hi

Ótimo – great

Pai – father

Por favor – please

Porcaria – shit, or bad stuff

Prenda – just like a gaucha

Preta – black

Puta que pariu – goddamn it, holy shit, fuck

Que droga – this sucks/damn/crap/jeez

Que porcaria
é
essa – what the hell is this

Querida – dear

Sem rodeios – without rodeos, means without dillydallying

Senhorita – miss

Sete de Setembro – Brazil’s Independence Day

Sim – yes

Tá tudo bem – it’s okay

Tchau – bye

Tche – common expression used by gaúchos. It can mean many things. A salutation, an exasperated exclamation, or even calling someone

Te comporta – behave

Um minuto – One minute

Chapter One

 

Leaving some things—or people, or horses—behind was harder than I thought it would be.


Tá tudo bem
,” I said, patting Preta’s long neck. My beautiful gray mare tilted her head to me and nudged my shoulder with her wet nose. Smiling, I leaned over the stall door and hugged her. “Hannah will take care of you.” In the next stall, Argus nickered. I turned to him. “
Sim
, you better take good of her too.”

“I know he will,” Hannah said, entering her ranch’s stable. She had a sweet smile on her lips, but her dark green eyes looked at me with concern. That was how everyone looked at me lately, and I was getting sick of it. Hannah stopped by my side and watched both horses. “He’s in love.”

I scratched Preta’s wither. “So is she.”

That was the main reason I was leaving my mare here. Because Argus and Preta behaved like an old married couple. Not because my father and I had had the fight of the century two nights ago, and I had left promising never to come back. Not at all.

Hannah leaned on the back wall. “Excited?”

I faced her and rested my butt on the stall’s door, allowing Preta to keep nuzzling my back. I needed my mare’s comforting and supporting touch right now.

My entire life, I did whatever was good for my brothers’ and cousin’s polo career. Dropping out of vet school and following them from Brazil to the U.S. a little over a year ago had been the culminating point. We had always traveled all over the world for tournaments and contracts, but we had never talked about moving. Much less to another country.

At first, it was like a new, fun adventure. So much to see, so much to explore. However, after a couple of months, I grew tired of it. All I did was follow them to the club for training, then back home. Even riding by myself, without a time frame or obligations, had been hard to squeeze in with their busy calendar.

I loved my family with every drop of my blood, but I wasn’t the type to sit pretty and smile. I would rather run around, muck out a stall or two, get my hands dirty, and feel useful.

My patience had a limit, and I had reached it a long time ago.


Sim
. And nervous too.”

She nodded. “I know. You’ll be fine, though. You’re smart and pretty. Girls will want to know all your secrets and boys will fall head over heels for you.”

“Boys? Who’s talking about boys?” Leo strolled in the stable. As usual, my twin brother wore jeans and no shirt.


Eita.
” I slapped my hand over my eyes. “Put on a T-shirt.”

Hannah laughed. Of course, she was laughing. He was her boyfriend. She probably enjoyed staring at his chest. I didn’t.

“Don’t change the subject,
senhorita
.” Leo halted beside Hannah and put his arm around her shoulders, pulling her close. Most of the time, it was cute to see how much they loved each other. But sometimes, it was sickening. Didn’t they get tired of being together all the time? “I’ll punch any boy who looks at you the wrong way.”

I rolled my eyes. “Leo, we just turned twenty-two. I don’t need your protection anymore.”

He shrugged. “You’ll be fifty and I’ll still be watching over you.”


Meu Deus
. Good thing I’ll be many miles away.”

His happy demeanor fell through, and a knot appeared between his brows. “Too many miles away.”

And I couldn’t wait for it.

I whirled around and patted Argus’s neck then kissed Preta’s forehead. “Be a good girl, okay.” I inhaled a deep breath and put on a smile before facing my brother and his girlfriend. “I should get going.” After all, I had to drive seventeen hours to get to Colorado.

Without waiting for an answer, I marched out of the stables to the parking lot beside the main house, hearing Leo’s and Hannah’s footsteps as they followed me.

After I told him of my plans a month ago, Leo decided I shouldn’t leave without a car. He said it would be helpful to have my own set of wheels wherever I went, so he gave me a brand new red Grand Cherokee for our birthday. I wanted another SUV, but since Jeep was his sponsor, I had no say in it. Besides, I hadn’t set up my own bank account here in the U.S. since we moved. At the time, it didn’t seem like a big thing, since I had debit and credit cards from my parents’ account and I didn’t need to ask permission to buy anything. That changed after my fight with my father. Now, I didn’t feel like taking his money for anything, and I depended on Leo’s bank account. He insisted he didn’t mind, but I did.

I opened the driver’s door and stared inside for a moment. I had jammed everything I owned in there, everything I had brought from Brazil and bought here since. It didn’t look like much, but the car was about to explode clothes and boots and cowboy hats everywhere.

Sighing, I faced Leo and Hannah. “Thanks. For everything.”

Hannah pulled me into a hug. “Drive safe. Call us every time you stop to eat or rest. And call us when you get there. Take care. Have fun. And—”

“Okay, Mom,” I teased, breaking the hug. Leo opened his arms and I wrinkled my nose. “I’m not hugging you. Put on a T-shirt first, then we can talk about it.”

Ignoring me, he wound his arms around me. “Come here.” I squirmed, which made him squeeze me tighter. “Everything Hannah said, okay? Be a good girl.”

I stepped back and shook my head at him. “I’m always a good girl.” He snorted, but I decided this wasn’t the time to start an argument. I slipped inside my SUV and looked at them. “I’ll see you soon.”

“Farewell,” Hannah said.


Tchau
,” Leo said.

I turned on the engine, closed the door, put on my seat belt, and tuned the radio to a loud country song before driving out of the parking lot, off the ranch, and taking the first step into my new life.

 

***

The University of Fort Howell, located in the tiny town of Fort Howell, Colorado, just east of Aurora, buzzed with life. Classes started Wednesday, but today the dorms and the registrar office opened, allowing students to get ready and acquainted with the campus, and with new friends.

As I drove through the streets, students walked up and down, carrying boxes, bags, sofas, mattresses. Parents took pictures instead of helping. Cars were parked in non-parking spaces, or were doubled parked. There were smiles and tears everywhere.

After driving seventeen hours, not counting my stops and the nap I took at a rest area during the night, I was so tired that I didn’t think I would feel anything once I got here.
Tche
, I was wrong.

BOOK: Breaking Fences (The Breaking Series)
13.46Mb size Format: txt, pdf, ePub
ads

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