Claudine (is adopted)

Even though her childhood in the little town of Bethune, SC was in no way uncomfortable, she couldn’t wait to grow up and escape.  So at 16 she packed a small suitcase and boarded a bus for Montana, not realizing that most towns there were almost as small as Bethune.  But somehow training Andalusians for dressage came easily to her, and ranch life with a multitude of hard-bodied cowboys had its own pleasures, so she never returned to Bethune.

(a PJH / MMB story)