[ einundzwanzig ]
Thomas left for practice with his club, Bayern Munich around noon, leaving Lolita in the ranch by herself for a few hours until his return. She was only seventeen and didn't need much supervision, but she had the house cook Gretta and her grand daughter Elsa to keep her company. She assisted them in getting some of the house chores done, and then convinced Gretta to allow Elsa to go horseback riding with her. Since she was on vacation in Germany, she did not need to have equestrian training. But now, ever since she had started seeing Erik, she was thinking of going back to equestrian training in Germany.
The girls spent about three hours horseback riding and going down to the lake since it was a warm day. When they returned, Thomas was already back from his daily training at the club, and he smiled wide when he saw Lolita. She was sitting on the living room couch, having a conversation with Elsa when Thomas entered the house. Elsa quickly got up and returned to her work in the kitchen after excusing herself in front of her boss.
"How was your horseback ride?" He asked her with a tired smile. Sometimes training sessions weren't so bad at the club. But with everything including taking care of ranch business all on his own since Gabriella was still in the hospital, he found himself a little more tired with each passing day.
Lolita smiled and lightly gave a shrug of her shoulders. "We kinda just went to the lake because I didn't want to get us lost."
With a sheepish smile and scratching the back of his head, he made her an offer that he hoped she wouldn't refuse. "Maybe after my game this weekend we can go horseback riding together around the ranch. I could show you around. I do a general wellness check every morning with your mother and every afternoon by myself. It would be nice if you came along." As the words left his lips, he couldn't help but hear the eagerness in his own voice. He wanted her to accompany him.
She crinkled up her nose at his words and he felt a prick in his chest at the thought of being rejected. "Wouldn't you be really tired after your game? I don't want to slow you down." Now that they got along, Lolita had to admit she had a lot of love for Thomas. He had been her first real friend in Germany when they moved. He was like an older brother who bought her presents and always concerned himself with her well being. After realizing that the love he had for her mother was real, she found herself trusting him again. The last thing she wanted was to be a burden to him, after playing a full on football match in the city, he probably wanted to come back and relax at home, not concern himself with a little girl like her.
What she didn't realize was that Thomas wanted nothing more than to spend time with her.
Which was why he was adamant, and he insisted. "Its really no trouble at all." He told her. "Like I said, the company would be nice. Your mother doesn't accompany me in the afternoons because she likes helping Gretta in the kitchen. Sometimes I go with one of the employees. But its not the same. Plus, you could learn about the land that will be yours to take care of some day."
At that, Lolita seemed to feel bad for declining. She had reasons for declining. But after hearing his reasons for wanting her to go, she was convinced. A smile forming on her lips, she finally said with a nod of her head. "Yeah, I guess I could go with you."
"Great." He grinned at her, happier than he should have been.
-
Thomas rested for a bit over an hour in his bedroom before changing into something comfortable and emerging from his room. Lolita was usually either in her bedroom with Gena, in the living room watching television, or in the kitchen passing time with Elsa and her grandmother. As he emerged from the room, he went to the living room first in search of his step daughter. It was empty. He passed by her bedroom next to see if he could catch the sound of two girls talking. They were close in age--Lolita on her way to turning eighteen and Gena was around twenty years old. But they got along really well.
