Country Girls Do It Better... Book 1 Of The Healing Through Horses Trilogy

Chapter 29

          Hannah bolted in the door, almost before I had even opened it. "Mom! You should see her horse! She's so beautiful!" Her voice trailed off as she entered the living room.
          I sat on the chair in the entry way to remove my winter boots. Since school, they had been frozen onto my feet, then heated up and melted on to my feet. Disgusted by the slight smell, I dropped them to the side and put my hands on my thighs, pushing my self up. 
           "How was your date?" Hunter was standing in the doorway between the entryway and the living room. He was trying so hard to hide his obvious jealousy, but a muscle twitched in his jaw, totally giving him away. 
           "You're so jealous." I smirked and walked past him, making my way into the kitchen. Of course, he followed me. I opened the fridge and pulled out a carton of strawberry flavored yogurt. 

           "Me? Jealous?" He scoffed, "No way." 
           I jumped up onto the counter and leaned my back against the top cupboards. "What is it with guys? They can't admit their feelings. It's like, an unspoken rule between them. 'The girl must never know how I feel'. It gets really old, y'know?" Looking down, I jammed a spoonful of yogurt into my mouth. 
           He didn't say anything for a few moments; he just stood there, watching me eat my yogurt. I wondered what he was thinking, trying to keep myself from shifting uncomfortably under his gaze. 
           Finally he spoke. "You want to know how I feel?" He took a step towards me, and then another step. 
          "Yeah. Maybe I do. I mean, you know my entire life story now. I think you owe me..." My voice trailed off as he walked forward, closing the gap between us. He was directly in front of me, standing between my legs. He placed his hands on the counter on either side of me, staring directly into my eyes. 
          "Fine. Maybe I am jealous. But, I mean, why wouldn't I be? You're beautiful. Anyone can see that. Even stupid people like Chase. That's what worries me." He sighed, rubbing the back of his neck with one hand. He seemed to have lost a bit of his nerve. I cocked my head to the side. "He's a cocky jerk, and I don't like him being around you so much. He's not right for you." 
          "Oh what? And you are?" 

         "Yeah."
         The single word sent my brain reeling into outer space. 

         "What are yo-" I was cut off by my dad yelling my name. 

         Hunter took one last, long look at me before moving to the side. I hopped down and trekked to the living room, feeling his eyes on my back. "Yeah, dad?" 

        "The Smith's have invited us over on the 25th for Christmas dinner." 
       I just couldn't get a break from this guy, could I? Part of me was excited, but the other part was already dreading it. I plastered a smile over my face, in an effort to look happy about this change of plans. "That's great. Thanks Mrs. Smith!" 
        She gave me a small, motherly smile. "Of course, dear. Well, we better get going. Hunter!" 

       Hunter came in from the kitchen. "Ready to go?" 
       Hannah bolted out the door, obviously itching to do something. 

       We said our goodbyes, and Mrs. Smith followed her daughter. 
       "Hunter, You're off until after Christmas. Spend time with your family." 
       He grinned at me dad. "Thank you, sir. See you on Christmas." He looked at me again, his expression unreadable, before finally leaving. 
        I think it's safe to say, I got no sleep that night. 

          I hurdled down the stairs the next night, calling dad's name. My door was loose and I couldn't find the wrench to tighten it. He probably left it out somewhere it wasn't supposed to be. I turned the corner at the bottom of the stairs, and ran directly into him. 

         I took a step back, and had to do a double-take. Dad was standing in front of me, wearing his best pearl snap shirt. The one that only came out of the closet on very special occasions. It looked like either it had shrunk a few sizes, or he had grown a few sizes. Probably the latter. 
         "Okay, did I just step into an alternate universe here? No wait, worse. An alternative alternate universe." I teased. 
        "Haha very funny, Kid. Actually, I'm going on a date." He paused, looking at me nervously. "With Shelly," he continued. 
          I bit back the groan that threatened to escape my lips. Chase would never let me hear the end of this. Instead, I put on a smile. "That's great, Dad! She seems pretty great." 

          He scrutinized me like I was a grenade, and the pin was hanging precariously on the edge. "Are you sure you're okay with this? I thought it would be kind of hard. Y'know, after your mom." He looked at the ground, most likely fighting off tears. 
          "Dad. She made her decision, and there's nothing we can do about it anymore. It's time to let her go. It's been, like, over ten years." I brushed a piece of lint off of his shirt, not meeting his eyes. Here I was, telling him to get over mom, when I couldn't even take my own advice. 

          "Are you sure?" He asked me again. 
          "Yes. Now go. Have fun." 
         "Thanks, Kid. You're awesome." He wrapped me in a quick hug before moving toward the door. He grabbed his stetson off the peg, winked at me, and headed out into the darkness. 

        I didn't move, even after I heard the screen door slam behind him. 
        Dad was dating again. 
        I had two boys fighting over me. Could this get any worse? 
        Probably. 
       I still didn't know where that wrench was. 

        I trudged back upstairs and into my room. My door creaked loudly as soon as I opened it. I flopped over onto my bed, not knowing what to do with myself. It was only seven in the evening, and I was pretty much bored to tears. 
        After about ten minutes, I still hadn't moved. I stared at a spider as it scuttled across my ceiling. Every once in a while it would stop to take a break, and then start it's journey all over again. To the little spider, my ceiling was a vast desert that he had to cross, to complete his life's work. Or at least die trying. 
        That was a bit of a morbid thought, when you think about it. A spider's lifespan is so small. Usually because someone squashed it with their shoe. 

        Right now though, I had no desire to kill this poor, innocent spider. It just wanted to make it across the plains, back to it's family. It didn't want to be bothered. It didn't want to be hurt while it tried to survive. 
        I could relate to the spider. 
       I wanted to finish High School and leave the drama behind. 
        I wanted to survive. Stop being swarmed by two hormonal male teenagers with separation issues. Stop being bombarded with past memories that were bent on ruining any happiness I ever found. 
       It wasn't until about ten PM when dad got home. 
       I had fallen asleep in that position, staring at the spider that was now gone. 
     I was woken by the door opening and closing, and footsteps up the stairs. "Kid? You awake?" Dad asked softly, the door creaking as it opened wider. 
      Groggily, I sat up, straightening my rumpled t-shirt. "Well, now I am." I teased, a smirk on my face. "How did it go?" 
      In the dim light cast by my night light, (don't judge) I could just barely see his face light up at the question. "Really well. I just took her to Cutter's. We talked for a really long time, and I invited her and her nephew to the Smith's with us on Christmas. She agreed." A huge grin was plastered across his face. He was visibly happier then I had seen him in years. 

       "That's great, Dad. I'm glad you had fun." 
       "Well, You get some sleep, Kid. Goodnight." 
       "Goodnight, Dad." Goodnight, little spider. 

A/N: hey, y'all! Sorry, this chapter was really short. Not as short as when I first started the book, but still. Haha.  So, it's really late here. Or should I say, 'early'? I am absolutely exhausted, so this chapter was probably really bad. Nonetheless, I hope you all enjoyed it!  I'm just going to stop apologizing for being late, because I am almost every week. I have been absolutely swamped with school, and volleyball, and training the horses when I can, it's just been super crazy... Hope you all have a great night!

<3 <3 <3
~Austin