Samantha
“Welcome to Houston Texas. Thank you for choosing Delta for your flight today. Please buckle your seat belts as we land.”
Ahh fuck, here we go.
Houston is where I grew up- but it’s not my home. New York City is my one and only home- always will be. I managed to avoid Texas for the past five years, and I never thought I’d be coming back this soon- but here I am.
So why am I finally venturing back? Well, that would be because of my father. If you can even really call him that.
My father is one of the biggest ranchers in our part of Texas. He’s the richest, and by far the most successful one. Which is all good and well- except there’s one issue with my father, and that issue is just too big for me to overlook.
You see, my father has been horrible to me for as long as I can remember. He’s pretty much like that with all the women in my family- including my mother. I have spent the better part of my life begging her to leave him- but for some reason, she refuses.
Ah who am I kidding- I know the reason. Money. If it weren’t for him, she would have nothing- he even made her sign a prenup before getting married, so it’s not like she’d get anything from the divorce. In fact, she’d only be worse off.
So she’s kind of trapped. And as horrible as that is- she hasn’t really tried to do a single thing to better the situation for herself, so I can’t really feel bad for her.
Regardless of that, my mother and I have still managed to remain pretty close. We talk a few times a week- but never about my father. She always makes sure to not mention him, mostly because she knows that if she does- she probably won’t hear from me for a while.
I know it sounds like I’m pretty bitter when it comes to my family, but I’m honestly not. I have four brothers- and they’ve always been very nice to me. I’m in good standing with my cousins, my grandparents- pretty much everyone but my father.
If I’m being honest- I miss my family quite a lot. That’s the only way I was even able to get on this plane. I have two nieces that I haven’t even seen since they were born. I’m honestly really excited to see everyone.
My main worry is what the hell my father wanted me to come home for. He refused to give me any real details- but he made it sound very important. My first thought was that maybe someone was sick- like my mother or grandparents. I guess I’ll find out soon enough.
It’s not that I don’t miss home- I love Texas. It’s beautiful here, and I love the heat. We don’t get this kind of weather in New York.
It’s just that I thrive in NYC. You see, I’m a lingerie model- and a famous one at that. When I’m in New York, it’s like I’m actually alive. Everywhere I go, people know who I am. Everywhere I look, I see my face in the magazines, up on the billboards, etc.
It’s fucking amazing. Not to mention my amazing group of friends. Because of them, I never get bored in the city. We’re out partying almost every night- and it truly feels like where I’m meant to be.
But that doesn’t mean that I don’t still feel as if something is missing. I’d be lying if I said that. I guess that’s probably why I packed for more than a weekend trip to Texas. Something tells me I might be here for a little while.
I deboard the plane, claim my bags, and hail a cab home. My father’s house isn’t actuallyinHouston- it’s about thirty or so minutes outside of the city. It’s actually really fucking beautiful, and I find myself missing it at the most random of times.
Especially my horse, Whitney. I’ve had Whitney since I was fifteen years old. She’s going on ten years old now, and I’ve missed the hell out of her these past five years.
Finally, my cab pulls up to the ranch. I pay him, and hop out, rolling my bags up the driveway. I’m a whole day early- I didn’t want the family to throw me this whole welcome home party and be totally bombarded as soon as I arrived- so no one even knows I’m here right now.
As I’m about to leave my bags outside the barn and run inside to see Whitney, when I hear my fathers voice. I stop short- mostly because his voice gives me the chills after going so many years without hearing it.
“Yes, I didn’t mention any of this to her. She has no idea why she’s coming. Well, I just made it sound like it was something really important- I knew that if she thought something was wrong, she would come. It was really the only way.”
Hold up- is he talking about me? I take a few steps back and to the side, so that I’m just out of his line of vision, but close enough to still hear him.
“Well, that’s exactly why I’m doing this. It’s a complete disgrace- seeing my own daughter plastered on all these magazines, posing half-naked for all of the world to see? Do you know how these people look down on me for this? It’s all anyone ever talks about. But if I can get her here, settled down with one of the local ranchers- well, game over.”
“See, I knew you’d ask that. I’ve been thinking a lot about it- and I actually think Mr. Dalton and Mr. Anderson would be perfect. They’re the only two ranchers in this part that even come close to my status- not only that- but they’re damn good at what they do. Those names could actually bring back some of our reputation that she threw right in that trash.”
Wow… I mean, I knew my father thought this way of me- but to actually hear him saying it out loud- is something else.
“I’m going to offer both of them my ranch and my prize-winning herds if they can get her to settle down with them. I’ll do anything to get her here permanently. I have other plans for myself- I don’t need this ranch.”
“That’sexactlymy plan. You know me well. I’m going to approach Asher and Liam either today or tomorrow before she arrives. There’s no way they’ll say no to me- I could ruin their reps in five seconds. Yep. Oh hey- while I’ve got you here, when are you comin over for that barbecue we’ve been talking about for ages?”
Since he seems to be done talking about me for the moment- I use this time to quietly sneak away towards the main house. I guess I’ll have to see Whitney later.
For now, it’s time to devise my own plan. I won’t let him get away with this…