Samantha
The morning sunrise lights the path from Liam’s house to the countryside. I have no shame, but I’m not happy with myself. How could I let myself spend the night with Liam? Where is my mind these days? Things are not going the way that I planned.
I get home and dump my purse on my bed. I am too tired and disgusted with myself to take a shower. I’m so exhausted.
Liam is fantastic at sex, but that does not make what happened right.
I hear my father rumbling around the house. The last thing I want to do is talk to him. I go to sleep praying he will not knock on my door.
I manage to sleep all day before my father knocks on my door. I open my eyes and reach into my purse for my phone. The battery is dead. I roll over and look at my bedside clock.
“Samantha, are you decent?” I hear my father ask.
“Yes, come in. If you must,” I add.
My dad opens the door and smiles at me.
“Wake up, little Mary Sunshine, you’ve got things to do!”
“What things?”
“Well, you’ve got to get ready to see Liam and Asher.”
“Together?”
“No sweetheart, of course not. I’ll let you just see one at a time.”
“You’ll let me?”
“Yes, darling, it’s unseemly to be involved with two men at one time.”
“I don’t care what anyone thinks, don’t you get that? Now get out!”
My father looks shocked.
“Is that any way to treat the man who has your best interests at heart?”
“My best interests? You’re kidding me, right? You don’t care about me!”
“Come on sweetheart, let’s get some coffee in you. You’ll feel better then.”
“Coffee is not going to cure this. You are a master manipulator, and I’m not gonna let you mess with my life. I’m not your prize heifer mating with your neighbor’s bull. You can’t sell me to the highest bidder. I am a woman! I am not cattle!”
“Look sweetheart, we’re winning here. You’ve worked your special magic on both these guys. Let’s strike while the irons hot. Don’t let those embers of love die.”
“What?”
“Get a move on. I’ve got you an appointment for a mani-pedi in a half hour and after that, you’re going to do something about that hair of yours. Plus, we have to go shopping and get you out of these ridiculous New York City clothes.”
I cannot believe the nerve of my father trying to take over my grooming and shove me at not just one man but two. I have no patience for this today.
“All right, you be ready in ten.”
My father walks out of my bedroom, and I slam the door behind him. I’ve got to get out of here.
I know that my father is probably in the living room pouring his afternoon cocktail, so I can’t get out from the front door. And from where he sits in the living room- he can see the kitchen door. So, I’ve no choice but to climb out of my bedroom window.
I’m still so very exhausted and angry at myself. How can I be falling for two men at one time? How can I be falling for anyone right now? This thing with my father has gone too far.
I’msupposed to be in control, but I’m anything but. I’m as out of control as you can get. It is time that I get myself balanced, and to do that, there’s only one place to go: the stables.
In order to avoid my dad, I climb out the window and run towards the back of the property where we have our stables. And there she was waiting for me: Beautiful Whitney. She is sleek and dark in a mysterious way. She is my girl, and the only thing I really missed when I was in New York.
It takes me ages to get the saddle on and get her ready to ride, but it was well worth the time. Soon, it will be sunset and the perfect time to ride. I give the signal to Beautiful Whitney that she can run out into the fields. She begins a slow trot, picking up speed the further she is from the stables. I feel the power of her muscles as I bounce along in the saddle.
I have to let go of what has been happening with my father- to figure out what is right for me. Going out with two men at the same time is a problem. Sitting on my Beautiful Whitney, I realize that I am not the teenager who has to take her father’s abuse because I have nowhere to go.
I squeeze Whitney with my legs, and she immediately starts up again. I am a grown woman now and I control my destiny. And with that, my horse and I ride out into the sunset.