A Reckless Life

by Michelle Files

  She continued brushing the horse she was with. “I know. I really wasn’t trying to eavesdrop, but I was in here when Adam walked up and I didn’t want to interrupt. My name is Teresa, by the way.”

  She was very pretty, about thirty years old, was my guess. She had medium length, brunette hair, and large brown eyes. I had seen her before working around the ranch, but we had never officially met.

  “I’m Abbey.”

  “I know. You are the cook, right? You are very good at it.” She had a really nice smile.

  “Technically I’m the cook’s assistant. But, thanks. So, what do you mean that I need to watch myself with him?” I knew what she meant. It was just nice to talk with a female for a change. The only other ones around were Violet and Sarah, and they both ignored me as much as possible.

  “Adam Tyler is good looking, and charming, but he’s married. You don’t want to mess with that. I just want you to be really careful. You are young and could get yourself in trouble around him.” She seemed sincere in her warning.

  “I know, you are right.”

  I felt a little ashamed even accepting his offer to teach me to ride, even though I hadn’t done anything wrong. Yet. There was no way I could tell her about the plan Violet and I had.

  After we chatted for a bit, I went back inside to get started on dinner preparations. I thought about Teresa while I worked. She seemed nice enough. We could be friends. It would be really nice to have a friend around there. Walter was the only one that I even liked on the ranch, but he wasn’t really best friend material for a 15 year old girl.

  The next morning I arrived at the stables a bit early, because I was nervous and wanted to calm my nerves some before Adam showed up. I didn’t want to be late and make a bad impression. When I arrived, I found that Adam had beaten me there and two of the horses were already saddled up and ready to go.

  “I could have helped you with that. Isn’t it something I should learn anyway?” I asked him.

  “No need. There’s always someone around that can saddle your horse for you. Riding is the fun part. Let someone else get the horses ready.”

  “Okay.” I was there to learn and figured that’s what the ranch hands got paid for.

  The day was just glorious for riding. The sun was shining bright with just a few wispy clouds in the sky. It was just cool enough for a light sweater, definitely a perfect day. Adam was wearing jeans, a long sleeved t-shirt and boots again. I don’t know why I was surprised. I think those were pretty standard riding clothes. It was just still strange to me, because before yesterday I had never seen him dressed like that. He was very handsome.

  Adam showed me how to get up on the horse and I found it was a lot easier than it looked. He said I was a natural. It sounded a bit flirty to me, but I brushed it off as my imagination. We started off very slowly and rode for perhaps an hour before we arrived back at the ranch. He took it very easy with me. We didn’t run the horses at all. I was much too scared for that. He said he would save that for another day. We talked mostly about the horses and life on the ranch, nothing personal at all. He was very nice to me.

  When we got back, Adam handed the horses off to one of the ranch hands and we headed inside. I felt kind of bad that I got to spend the day riding and didn’t have to do anything but hand the the horses off afterward to someone else to attend to. I had always been a hard worker and didn’t like making someone else do what I felt was something I should have done. It didn’t seem to bother Adam though. I couldn’t blame him, that’s how he was raised. Besides I did see him often working with the horses. It wasn’t as if he just sat in his office all day and did nothing else. From what I could see he worked very hard at keeping the horse farm running smoothly.

  When we walked into the house together, Adam told me that he enjoyed teaching me to ride and we should do it again soon. That’s when I noticed Sarah standing there, just inside the door. She had been waiting for us, that was obvious. She gave me a death look without saying a word. There was no need for her to say anything, I knew what she was thinking. We hadn’t done anything wrong, but I suddenly felt very guilty. I dropped my eyes quickly to the floor and scurried, that’s the best word to describe it, to the kitchen to get to work. I then had to explain to Oliver why I was late. He didn’t seem any happier than Sarah did. I wasn’t making any friends that day.

  Chapter 12

  Two days later Adam asked me if I wanted another lesson.

  I hesitated before answering him. “I don’t know. Your wife seemed really upset when she saw the two of us together the other day.”

  “Oh, don’t worry about her,” he said, waving his hand in a flippant manner. “I explained that I was just teaching you how to ride, and she was fine.”

  I didn’t really believe him. I saw the look on Sarah’s face. But, if he said it was okay, how could I argue with him? I agreed to another lesson and we had a great time. Over the next few weeks I really started to like him. He was fun to be around and I got to be a pretty good rider. One day after we had been training for a little while, we sat down on the bank of the river for a break. It wasn’t a very wide river, but it was just beautiful and kind of meandered along at a nice pace. A flock of white birds flew over and I was mesmerized as I watched them until they were out of sight.

  “You don’t like my wife much, do you?” he asked me out of the blue and it startled me back to reality.

  There was a soft breeze from the river and it had blown a few strands of hair into my face. I reached up to brush them away as I thought about how I was going to answer that question. Was there any answer that wouldn’t get me into trouble?

  “Well…” was all I could muster at that moment. “I…”

  “It’s okay, you don’t have to answer,” he interrupted. “I know.”

  I just looked at him with a half smile, really not knowing how to respond. Regardless of how I felt about her, there was no way I was going to say anything negative about his wife. I wasn’t that stupid.

  “I know Sarah can be trying at times. But, she’s not all bad.”

  “I’m sure she’s not. I don’t know her very well. I think she avoids me whenever she can,” I told him honestly.

  “We haven’t been married all that long and I do love her in my own way. My parents pretty much made me marry her. It wasn’t really an arranged marriage, I mean I did agree to it, which was after my parents strongly insisted that we marry. They knew her parents and well. You know how it goes.”

  “No, I really don’t. My parents would never make me marry anyone I didn’t want to marry.” That was true.

  “They didn’t really make me.” He started to sound a bit defensive, crossing his arms over his chest.

  “Oh, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to upset you.” I was afraid that I would make him mad. I desperately needed at least one ally in the Tyler family.

  “I know. I just meant that our marriage certainly isn’t something that fairy tales are made from, but it pretty much works for us. When Henry and Violet Tyler wanted something, it usually happened. I knew I couldn’t fight it, so there really was no point. Besides, Sarah is a decent catch, even though I know that I will never be deeply, truly in love with her. We can make it work.” He sounded like he was trying quite hard to convince himself, instead of me.

  He was spilling his guts to me, which was crazy. I barely knew him and didn’t even know what to say. The conversation was turning very personal and I felt like an outsider that was eavesdropping. I certainly didn’t feel comfortable enough to make any comments about the state of his family. Therefore, I mostly kept my mouth shut. It was all very personal stuff he really shouldn’t be telling one of his employees.

  “Oh, I’m making you feel uncomfortable. I’m sorry,” he told me.

  Apparently he could see how reluctant I was to speak about the topic when it was not my place to do so.

  “No, it’s okay. I just have never been married and can’t relate.”

  He smiled at me and sto
od up then, reaching out his hand to help me up. “Come on. We should be getting back.”

  The ride back to the ranch was pretty quiet. We chatted about the horses and other things. There was no more talk about his marriage at all. I was relieved.

  The next day I was in the kitchen prepping for lunch and in walked Violet Tyler. Oliver and I looked at each other in shock. I remember Oliver telling me that in all the years he had been working there, Violet had never been in the kitchen. Even though she owned the house, he was pretty sure she had no idea where the kitchen was.

  “Abigail, I would like to speak to you. Alone.” She was looking directly at Oliver as she said this. He just put his knife down on the counter and walked out without saying a word.

  I watched him as he left, then turned my attention to Violet.

  “Abigail, I want an update on the Adam situation,” she demanded.

  Luckily she kept her voice low. I certainly didn’t need Oliver overhearing anything. It would be all over the ranch before Violet left the kitchen.

  “Um, well, there really is not much to tell,” I said quietly.

  “Why not? You have had weeks. Do you not know how to seduce someone?” Wow, right to the point.

  “Not really, no.” The admission embarrassed me. How lame that I didn’t know how to make a man like me. Wasn’t that something that all females knew how to do instinctively?

  “Well figure it out. This is taking far too long. I expect some better news in a few days.”

  Apparently she was done with me, because she walked out without another word. I heard her speaking with Oliver in the hall and he walked in a minute later. He gave me a quizzical look, but I wasn’t about to spill the beans about my ‘arrangement’ with Violet. I was absolutely ashamed that I had even agreed to it in the first place.

  That afternoon Huck came by the house for a visit. I had an hour or so until I had to get back to work, so we went for a walk around the ranch. We just talked and went to see the horses for a bit. Teresa was there. She and I had become friends over the last few weeks. I didn’t dare tell her about Adam though. She had seen us together several times and made a comment here and there, but mostly stayed out of it. I did appreciate that.

  I introduced Huck to Teresa and they hit it off immediately. They started chatting and completely forgot I was even standing there for several minutes. Finally, I tugged at Huck’s sleeve and he tore himself away from her and continued his walk with me.

  I think Teresa had a thing for him, because every time he came over after that, she always showed up. He didn’t seem to mind because they were friends. It was starting to irritate me. I don’t think he was interested in her though, as he had a crush on me. I know this because he asked me out a few times. I thought he was cute and funny and was a great guy, but I didn’t think of him that way. He was my friend and that’s all it would ever be. Besides, with everything that was in the works with Adam, I couldn’t possibly get involved with anyone else. How in the world would something like that even work?

  A few days later I ran into Adam as I was walking out of my room to go to work one afternoon.

  “Oh, sorry,” I said as I tried to walk around him.

  “No wait, I was looking for you,” he said, blocking my way.

  “You were?” I looked up into his beautiful green eyes.

  “Yeah, I want to show you something. Come with me.” He started walking toward the stairs.

  “Wait, I can’t. I’m late for work.”

  “Don’t worry about that. Did you forget that I’m the boss? I’ll tell Oliver it was my fault. Come on.” He smiled and I followed.

  I’m sure Oliver is going to love that, I thought as I followed him up to the second floor, and then up another flight of stairs to the third floor. It was eerily quiet. Rarely did anyone use the third floor. We continued walking to the end of the hallway to one of the bedrooms.

  “Come in.” He stood in the doorway, stepping aside so I could go in first.

  I was a bit leery, but went on in anyway. This one was a bit different than the other rooms I had been in. It was beautifully decorated, as every room in the entire house was, but as we walked inside, Adam walked over and opened a closet door.

  “What’s in the closet that I need to see?” I asked him, wondering what in the world was going on. I was a bit suspicious.

  He smiled that gorgeous smile of his. “It’s not a closet, come on.”

  I walked over and was surprised to find that it was another bedroom. From outside, it just looked like a closet. So it was kind of a secret room, I guessed. At least it seemed that way to me. I walked in and it was really cozy. It was still a good sized room, but decorated in browns and reds. It was really different and felt very comfortable and cozy. It wasn’t decorated like a hunting lodge, but kind of had that feel. Very down to earth. It made me just want to curl up under a blanket, in front of the fireplace. Yes, there was a fireplace in this ‘secret room’. I walked around, just taking it all in. I loved everything about the room.

  “Do you like this painting?” He asked, pointing to a large painting on the wall.

  I looked at it with all of its bright colors and odd shapes, and loved it immediately. “It’s beautiful. Did you paint it?”

  He burst out laughing. “Hardly.”

  “What’s so funny?” I was a bit embarrassed that he started laughing at me.

  “That, my dear, is an original Picasso.” He looked very pleased with himself with that announcement.

  “Wait, what? No way.” I looked at him for confirmation.

  “Yes, it really is. Picasso himself gave it to my grandfather. They were friends many years ago when my grandfather lived in Spain.” It was obvious that he was trying to impress me. It worked.

  “Wow, that’s just crazy. That thing must be worth a fortune.”

  “It is. There are very few people that even know it’s here. None of the staff know it is a Picasso. We are afraid of it being stolen.”

  “I don’t blame you. I would be worried about that too. So why are you telling me? Aren’t you afraid I will take off with it?” It was an honest question.

  “You? No, never. I trust you.” He looked at me seriously and I knew he meant it.

  “You are right. I am a lot of things, but not a thief,” I told him.

  Okay, I used to be a thief, but those days were over. I had vowed never to do that again. I was horribly ashamed of my past. Adam didn’t know any of it and I could never tell him.

  “I do love this painting though. It’s really too bad that it is hidden away up here and not down in the library or ballroom for everyone to enjoy.”

  “Sarah refuses to let me hang it up downstairs. She doesn’t even know where it is and thinks I just stuck it in storage somewhere. She hates it. She knows what it’s worth, but Picasso is not her ‘cup of tea’. She loves realism in her art.”

  “Even so,” I replied, “I don’t know how in the world she can not love this. Well, I guess you can’t please everyone.”

  “We should go.” He suddenly said. “We’ve been up here a while and people will start looking for us. I’ll go have a talk with Oliver for you, so you don’t get in trouble with him. I know he can be difficult.”

  “Thanks, that would be really nice. And thanks for showing me this. It’s just amazing,” I told him as we made our way back down to the kitchen.

  Chapter 13

  The next day, Adam found me out in the garden, reading. Apparently, there was nowhere on the ranch that I could hide from him. Or from anyone for that matter.

  “I would like to talk to you about something.” He started speaking without even waiting for me to finish the chapter I was on. I hated to stop reading when I was in the middle of a chapter.

  He seemed impatient, so I went ahead and put my book down and looked up as he sat down next to me.

  “I have a friend that owns a zoo not far from here. Would you like to go see it? That’s not weird is it?” He seemed a bit hesita
nt.

  “Why would a zoo be weird? I love zoos. Will there be a group of us going?” I was pretty sure I already knew the answer.

  “Well, no. I meant just you and me.” He paused for a moment to gauge the reaction on my face.

  “Oh, I see. Well sure. When do you want to go?” I asked him.

  He reached up and brushed some strands of hair from my face. It was a very gentle and loving gesture. For a minute I thought he was going to kiss me. It took only a couple more seconds to realize that that would never happen. Not here, sitting in the garden, where anyone could see us. I could feel that he was starting to fall for me, but he wasn’t a stupid man. He would wait.

  “How about tomorrow night, after they close? We would have the whole place to ourselves.”

  I’m sure the look on my face was a bit fearful, but he just sat there and waited for my response. I knew that if this thing that Violet cooked up was ever going to happen, I actually needed to do something.

  “Okay, sure,” I replied.

  We both knew this was a date. I knew he was married and what we were doing was so completely wrong. I knew this made me a terrible person, but I didn’t see any way out of it. I did like Adam. He was very good looking and charming. Who wouldn’t be attracted to that, and to everything he had to offer? However, there was Sarah. He belonged to her. I had no right to him and I knew it.

  He smiled. “Great. Sarah’s gone for a few days. She went to visit her sister, Jackie, and nephew, Jackson. But, people talk. So, why don’t you meet me out by the road at 8 p.m.? Is that okay with you? I just don’t want to give them anything else to gossip about, you know?”

  I knew.

  “Sure, that’s fine,” I relented.

  The next night, I walked out to meet Adam by the road. It was dark, so I probably couldn’t be spotted easily. Yes, I was going to meet a married man, my boss even, but I refused to skulk in the bushes. I decided that I wasn’t going to worry about it and I walked straight down the middle of the long driveway toward the road. Even if someone came along and stopped to talk to me, they wouldn’t know what I was up to. Unless they could read the guilt that was all over my face.