The Untold Story of Prince Charming (Book 2 of Cinderella Series)

Chapter 16

My mother knocked on the bedroom door a little while later before she pushed it open, and we looked at her, with me having a small smile on my face when I looked at her. "Hey, you two," she said while she tucked her head closer to her chest and gave us a small smile. "How are you?"

"Hey, Mom, and we are doing good," I said and paused the video game that both of us were playing, much to Ryan's annoyance. I shot him an annoyed look before I turned to look at my mom, growing serious. "What's going on? Is everything ok?"

My mother smiled sadly and nodded. "It is," she said before she cleared her throat and grew serious, shifting on her feet. "Your father has left for a couple of days, but he will be back. He had some business to attend to upstate, so he left to take care of that."

Ryan and I looked at each other before we looked at her. We didn't say a word while we stared at her, not knowing what to say or do, especially since it was surprising that my mother told us that he had decided to leave without saying goodbye to me.

Finally, I cleared my throat and shifted on the small couch that I had in my room. "Where did he go exactly, Mom?" I asked and furrowed my brows while I cocked my head and stared at her with wide eyes, concerned. "Where is he?"

"He's just upstate," she said again and shrugged with a small grimace on her face. "He does apologize for not telling you that he was leaving, but it was a last minute trip, and he had to go."

She kicked him out...

Again, Ryan and I looked at each other before we looked at her.

"Does that mean Dean can work with this horse?" Ryan asked, furrowing his brows while he cocked his head and studied Mom. "Or is he still "grounded" from doing anything with him?"

"He is allowed to work with Blue," Mom said and looked at Ryan before she looked at me. "I am not going to stop you, and your father will not say a word about it when he comes back."

I frowned, hesitating, even though a part of me was relieved that Mom would allow me to help. "Are you sure?" I asked and looked at Ryan before I looked at her. I pressed my lips into a thin line, not knowing if I was happy or worried that my father wouldn't say a word about me working with the horse he didn't want me to work with. "I mean, Dad was pretty adamant about me staying away from Blue."

"I am sure," she said and nodded. She cleared her throat and shifted on her feet, growing serious. "Do you remember any advice this girl had given you about how to work with Blue?" she asked and raised an eyebrow in question, changing the subject.

"Ella," I replied, defending her for some reason because I did not like how my mother referred to her as "this girl," even though there was a chance my mom didn't know Ella's name. "Her name is Ella. Please, call her Ella, Mom, and not just "some girl" or "this girl" or something along those lines because her name is Ella."

My mother slowly nodded, and a small smile appeared on her face. "Of course, Dean," she said before she cleared her throat to hide a chuckle and shifted on her feet, growing serious. "Now, did Ella give you any advice that she wanted you to to do when you work with Blue?" she asked and raised an eyebrow in question.

I furrowed my brows and tucked my head closer to my chest while I stared at the floor, trying to remember what she had said. "Ummm... Blue's skittish at the gate, well mostly everything that is new, which is true because he has been skittish about the barn and everything that was connected with it," I said.

My mother bit back a small chuckle and slowly nodded, pressing her lips into a thin line. She gestured for me to continue with what I needed to say, and I bit my lip while I tried to remember everything else.

"He's a little head shy, after an incident that happened while he was younger, but he is alright if you have some sugar cubes on you. He can run, and he can run very fast. However, he hasn't been in any real races, so they do not know how he is going to do."

"Why not?" Mom asked, interrupting me. She frowned and narrowed her eyes while she studied me, and I had a feeling that she didn't like the idea that he hadn't been any races but my father had bought him for that purpose.

I bit back an annoyed sigh and shook my head, moving a hand through my hair and pursing my lips in annoyance. "Because of some bitch named Delilah, who is her stepmother," I replied coldly. "She doesn't like her stepdaughter, nor her horse."

"Dean!" Mom exclaimed with a small sharp laugh, and I looked at her with wide eyes and an innocent look on my face. She scowled and narrowed her eyes, even though her eyes seemed to laugh about what I called her. "Be nice. That means not calling someone a "bitch,""

"But she is, Mom," I argued and gestured toward where they were living. "She is a bitch. She took Ella's horse and sold him to Dad. I am sure that she did a lot more things to that girl that we don't know about, but yes, she is a bitch."

Mom sighed and shook her head, clearing her throat to make sure to hide a chuckle, even though that was all she wanted to do. She moved a hand across her face and pursed her lips in annoyance while she looked at me. "Just do not call her a bitch in front of her face," she said with a small scowl on her face. "Is that understood?"

"Bu-"

My mother raised her hand to silence me, and I closed my mouth and pressed my lips into a thin line. "Is that understood?" she asked again, raising an eyebrow in question.

I sighed and slowly modded, relenting because I knew that my mother wouldn't take no for an answer. "Yes, Ma'am," I said before I cleared my throat and shifted on the couch before I cleared my throat. "I understand."

"Good, now what else?" My mother nodded and bit back a small smile while she cocked her head and studied me.

"Ella also said that he was better with female riders than male riders, so I do not know if that is going to be a problem or not. She also said that he acts like he is "owned" by one person, and in that case, it is her."

Mom frowned and slowly nodded, and worry flashed through her eyes. "So he doesn't take kindly to male riders?" she asked and raised an eyebrow in question.

I shrugged and grimaced. "From the sound of it, no," I said with a small shake of my head before I cleared my throat and shifted in my seat. "I don't think that it is a good idea to try it out for ourselves, but unfortunately..." I shrugged again, and my grimace grew deeper.

Mom bit back a bitter chuckle and slowly nodded, pressing her lips into a thinner line. "Unfortunately, we can not stop your father from a lot of stuff," she said before she cleared her throat and shifted on her feet. "However, we will make sure that Blue is comfortable here and has an ok experience while he is away from his person."

She raised an eyebrow in question while she tucked her head closer to her chest and smiled. "Deal?"

I breathed a small sigh of relief and slowly nodded in confirmation, feeling grateful that my mother was still going to be on my side and let me take care of Blue until I was able to convince my father to give him back to Ella.

"Deal."