CD Cinderella (3rd in the Encore!!! Series)

Chapter Twenty Four

Kat McAster's POV

"Everythin' is set," I said exhaustedly, floppin' down on the couch next to Trey. "We did it." He pulled me into his lap an' we jus' let a comfortable silence overtake us. I cuddled up to him, completely drained. "Can you drive me home, please?" I asked with a tiny yawn. "I still have to feed the horses." He nodded an' stood up, clutchin' me gently in his arms.

"Do you want to say goodbye to the girls?" He asked, picking up my bag from the couch somehow without letting me go.

"I already did. Troy left four hours ago, Breyden left around ten, and the girls are gettin' ready for bed, so I think it's time for us to go," I murmured into his neck. He shivered slightly at the sensation, but he regained composure an' carried me out to the car, lockin' the house door behin' him. Seriously, how was he doin' that?!

He put me down to open the car door, an' I climbed in slowly. He buckled me in, which was really sweet, even though we ended up makin' out for a little bit... He got in the driver's seat an' drove me home, holdin' my hand the entire way. He even went the extra mile an' came out back to the stables to do night feedin' with me an' Jayce.

While my family had a lot of horses, only three of them were actually mine. Princess, my mare, was my tenth birthday present from my parents. Mangle, my geldin', was a rescue that I had gotten to trust me when I was fourteen. The Animal Rescue Team, down in Texas, gave him to me as a "thank you" for doin' so much with them. Last, but not least, my stallion, Kryptonite, was originally my Dad's horse, but when he died, he left him to me in his will. I only showed Princess; Mangle and Kryptonite were my riding horses. When we moved, mom had almost made me leave them behind, but I refused to go peacefully without them, so they ended up comin' anyway.

I gave Trey a goodnight kiss as he walked me to my back door. It was really late, and hopefully Mom was already done for the night. Jayce wasn't, he was watchin' us from the barn. Creepy stalker.

"Sweet dreams, baby," he whispered, capturin' my lips with his one last time. Pullin' away regretfully, I smiled at him.

"Goodnight, Trey. I'll see you tomorrow."

"Bright and early," he teased, turnin' 'round an' headin' back to his car. "I'll pick you up around seven so we can skip, okay?" I nodded an' waved as he got in the driver's seat an' pulled out of the driveway that wrapped 'round our house.

I think I love him...

"Ma, we took care of night feed!" I called, walkin' in the back kitchen door. I didn' hear a response, so I kept hollerin'. "Don' worry 'bout feedin'!" I heard a noise from the livin' room, so I walked out to see why my Ma wasn' answerin'. "Ma, can you hear - ? Mr. Cierra?"

Why on Earth was Collette's dad sittin' in my house when his daughter was at his in-laws'?

"Kat, your mom and I have something to discuss with you..." Mr. Cierra began, standin' up from the plush couch. I could already see where this was goin'.

"You've been datin' this entire time. We didn' move here because of school, we moved here because of him," I said flatly, darin' my mother to tell me any different. She looked ashamed, but she wasn' the one I was mad at.

"Sweetheart, we jus' wanted to try it out, to see where thin's might go..." Ma tried to smooth thin's over.

"So why did Collette have to go?" I shot at the man whose house I had spent countless days an' nights in. "Was it really 'cause you had 'bigger plans' for her, or is it 'cause you wanted her out of the way so you could romance my mother? Seriously, sir, you are not off to a good start."

"Katherine McAster, when I said to get Ma, that did not mean take your sweet time...! Oh, what's goin' on in here?" My brother asked, removin' his hat as he walked into the room.

"Ma's been datin' my best friend's dad," I caught him up simply. "An' he sent his daughter away so he could do so."

"Well, that's a bit shady, sir, no disrespect," Jayce interjected, sittin' himself on the other couch.

"I didn't send her away, she needed some time to clear her head and think about what she wants to do with her life," Mr. Cierra protested weakly.

"You mean, what you think she should do with her life," I clarified. "She wants to be a musician, but not on your terms."

"This is not the point of this conversation..."

"Oh, really? 'Cause this looks a whole lot like a "meet-the-family" conversation minus one member," Jayce piped up, playin' with my video camera that I had been chargin'. "An' she's not here 'cause you sent her away, so yes, Sir, that is exactly what this conversation is about." He looked up at Mr. Cierra, who had been holdin' hands with my Ma. "If this is how you treat your own daughter, than how am I supposed to believe you will treat my Mama or my sister or myself any differently?"

I have never loved havin' an older brother as much as I did right then.