"It's not just nice darling, it's amazing." He was always trying to pinch it."I took the cup from her and sipped it while she sat down."This little fl...t you've got, is it big enough for two?" Yes," I said suddenly hoarsely. "Oh very definitely yes." How far is it to Manchester?"It'll take us about four hours, plenty of time to do some shopping when we get there.”"Shopping?" Yeah," I laughed. "This is for your eighteenth." I handed her an envelope from my jacket pocket that was hanging beside. I then went to the garage and got a Spanish bosal and hackamore that had been handmade just like I wanted made. I also brought a rope that was a 24 braid. The hackamore and bosal I brought out was 12 plait, but I wanted Keryon to see how it was done. After she got the hang of it, I took it apart and let some of the other women try too. I then gathered 12 pieces together and I started plaiting it too. The women caught on very quickly after that.I asked Bernita if she could cut strips about 22’. From this, Carrie and I became best friends.It wasn't unusual for us to go shopping and out to dinner alone, leaving our husbands to do the macho things on their own. This particular weekend, the boys were on a fishing trip. Carrie invited me over for dinner for a girls' night while they were away.I brought the wine and she made a delicious dinner. We were through our second bottle of wine when the conversation started to become more personal. Carrie, for the first time mentioned her first. I had hoped I might, though. I mean it has been a while since I last got any.My wife died about ten years ago of cancer and left me to raise our only daughter, Ashley; which didn't leave me much time to date, let alone have a relationship.But now that Ashley was able to take care of herself, I figured I'd have some time to meet someone new.But this first date was a complete disaster.As I pulled up to my house, I noticed that my daughter's car was parked in the driveway. I had given her a brand.