by Celia Aaron
“Why don’t you enlighten us, asshole?” Dylan turned to Vinemont.
“Oh, suffice it to say, I like owning beautiful things. As you know, your stepsister is particularly lovely, especially when unencumbered with trifles like clothing.” Vinemont didn’t miss a beat.
I gripped Dylan’s hand hard, keeping him next to me on the couch instead of challenging the devil in the doorway.
“I have an idea, Stella. Why don’t you show Dylan who you belong to?”
Ice water flowed through my heart. “What?”
“If he wants to know why I keep you and what I do to you, just give him a peek at your neck. I realize he’s slow, but maybe a little demonstration will help him figure it out.”
Dylan was already searching my throat with his gaze. “What’s he talking about, Stella?”
“Nothing.” I smoothed my hair down.
“Did he do something to you?” Dad asked. The sadness in his voice broke off a piece of my heart, leaving a bloody, jagged edge.
“No, he’s just talking.”
“Show them, Stella.” It was a command now, no longer a suggestion.
“No.” I pleaded with him, humiliation rising to color my cheeks.
“Is this a road you want to go down?” Vinemont looked from my father to me, the threat lingering in the air. “Do it.”
“Don’t talk to her like that.” Dylan’s anger mixed with the already-dangerous current of emotions in the room.
“No, I’ll show you. Just don’t antagonize him.”
“I’m not scared of him.” Dylan rose and faced Vinemont. “Of you. Let’s take this outside, motherfucker.”
“Wait, no, Dylan. He’s right. He owns me. I let him, okay? I’m his. Look.” I bent my head and pulled my hair to the side. “See? I’m his. I chose to be here, chose to be his.”
My father gasped. “No, Stella.”
“See, Dylan?” Vinemont’s self-satisfied tone made me want to claw his eyes out.
“All I see is a pussy who gets his rocks off hurting women,” Dylan snarled.
Score one for Dylan.
“Let’s not be so reductive. I enjoy hurting men, too, especially dumb brutes like you. Want me to show you?” Vinemont pushed off the doorframe and stood at the ready.
I smoothed my hair back over the mark. “Stop, both of you! Dylan, please, for me, just talk to me a while longer. Ignore him. Don’t you see? He wants you to go outside and fight him.”
“Time’s wasting, Dylan,” Vinemont added not-so-helpfully.
Dad dropped his head in his hands. I’d never seen him so defeated. I sank to my knees at his feet. “Please don’t, Dad. It’s going to be okay. All of it. Eleven months left? That’s nothing. I’ll be back before you know it.”
“I’ll never forgive myself.” He shuddered as a sob ripped through him.
“There’s nothing to forgive,” I said. “Please don’t torture yourself. I want you to be healthy and happy when I come home. I want you to be waiting for me with open arms. I’ll be there, Daddy. You’ll see. It’s not that long at all.” I pressed my forehead to his.
He offered no more words as his tears overcame him. I wrapped my arms around his shaking frame. I pulled from some deep well of strength inside myself—one I didn’t even know was there—as I held him.
“Time’s up.” Vinemont scowled at us.
“Look at him! Do you truly have no heart?” I hissed.
“In this case? No. No, I don’t. Now, gents, I suggest you get the fuck out of my house.”
“And if we don’t?” Dylan asked.
“Lucius,” Vinemont called.
His brother appeared, the two of them presenting a solid wall of muscle. They were almost a matching set. Both were glowering, their threat palpable. They could beat Dylan and my father senseless, and they would if given the opportunity.
“I’ll walk you out. Come on.” I refused to allow them to hurt Dad or Dylan.
My father rose with difficulty, and I helped him to the front door. Dylan took his other elbow as we maneuvered down the front steps. A black BMW waited out front.
“Did your mom get you a new car?” I asked.
“No, it’s his.” Dylan gestured to Dad.
“Oh.” I supposed his old, beat up Camry finally died.
I gave Dad another long hug. “I’ll see you again soon. I promise.”
He put a shaking hand to my cheek. “I’ll count the moments.”
Vinemont snorted as if Dad had told a joke. I shot him a corrosive glare.
Dylan and I helped Dad into the driver’s seat. Once he was in, I gave Dylan a long hug. Both Vinemont and Lucius smirked, no doubt feeling like they’d won some sort of victory. I’d show them.
When Dylan pulled away, I stood on my tiptoes and kissed him on the mouth. At first he was surprised, but then he deepened it, bending me back and clutching me to him. His tongue sank in my mouth, trying to get the fullest taste possible. It wasn’t exactly enjoyable, but when he pulled me back upright and I broke the embrace, the fire in the Vinemont brothers’ eyes was more than worth it.
“That was…” Dylan ran a hand through his hay-colored locks. “That was nice.”
“I’ll see you again soon.” I put my hand on his chest, playing it up like an Oscar was hanging in the balance.
He sobered. “I’ll get you out of here. I swear I will.”
I smiled at him, though I knew his oath would be broken. There was no getting out of here. Not for me. Not until my time was up.
Dylan walked to the passenger side and dropped in. I waved them away down the driveway. When the car disappeared in the glare of the sun, I turned and floated back up the stairs.
Vinemont grabbed my arm. “What was that?”
“What?” I fluttered my lashes innocently.
“You know what.”
I shrugged, enjoying the muscle ticking in his jaw. “I’m just an affectionate stepsister. What can I say?” I pulled my arm from his grasp and strode past an equally pissed Lucius.
“Good afternoon, boys,” I called, and closed the front door behind me, my heart full to bursting with my petty victory.
Chapter Seventeen
Stella
The next morning, I breakfasted with Teddy. He was back from school for the weekend. We actually had a long discussion about his art appreciation class. Like Lucius, he seemed to have an eye for good art.
He started out throwing major shade at Jackson Pollack, but by the end of his second coffee, he was coming around to the idea that all art didn’t have to be still lifes and flowers in vases. I was growing fonder of him despite myself. He seemed so normal, like a young man trying to figure himself out and make his way in the world.
I wondered how such a well-adjusted person could have come from the likes of the Vinemont family. Then again, I’d only ever met Lucius and Sinclair. I didn’t know what their parents had been like.
“So, now that we’ve gotten your art classes straightened out,” I said, “I have a few questions of my own. I’m tired of being cooped up in here, and I think you can help me out. Are there horses I could ride?”
“Like here, on the estate?” He tore through a piece of bacon and winked at the pretty maid as she refilled my cup.
“Yeah.”
“Sure. I’ll take you. I can’t ride with you, though. I have to finish some homework, and then I have a date.” His gaze slid back to the maid, Laura.
“Oh? Something romantic?” I asked.
“We’ll see.” He stood. “Come on.”
I followed him out to the hallway.
“Hang on, Stella. You can’t wear tennis shoes to ride. Got any boots?”
I looked down at my outfit. “You’re right. I’ll meet you back here in five minutes.”
I rushed upstairs and threw on some jeans, a t-shirt, a light jacket, and boots before returning to Teddy. Laura scurried away when I hit the bottom step. Teddy smiled, his lips a little redder than they were when I left him.
“I don’t intend to say anything to him, period. So that should be easy.”
“Yeah, you two have some kind of crazy thing going on. I don’t really understand it. I’ve learned just to not ask any questions anymore. They don’t tell me anything, anyway.” He shrugged. His hair was lighter than Vinemont’s but he was just as tall and almost as built. It was no wonder Laura had taken a liking to him.
He led me to some sort of ATV that was parked behind the house and motioned for me to get on the back. He swung a leg over and cranked it up.
“Where are the, um, helmets?” I asked over the sound of the engine.
“Scared?” He smiled, and I realized he was a lady killer hidden in the body of a young, sweet man.
I snugged up behind him and wrapped my arms around his middle. “Go fast.”
He laughed, a deep rumble I could feel through his back.
“Yes, ma’am.”
The day was uncharacteristically warm, but the breeze created by the speeding ATV was delicious. The smell of fall was in the air, crisp and familiar. Many trees still bore some seasonal color, while others had already given up, their branches bare and dormant.
He gunned it down the curving drive. I squealed with the pleasure of movement and freedom. The barn loomed up ahead, large and classically red. Bales of hay were lined up out front, and chickens pecked around from a nearby coop. It was a lovely picture, really—the sky mostly blue with a few fluffy clouds, the red of the barn, and the color in the trees, all working together to create something idyllic.
We flew past the barn and came to the stables, painted the same iconic red. He parked out front and helped me off the ATV.
“That was fun.”
He smiled again, beautiful. “Anytime. I’ll get you set up. Come on.”
We went into the stables and he disappeared into what I assumed was the tack room. There were several horses in the expansive enclosure. Two struck my fancy. One, large and dark. He nickered at me in greeting. I held out my hand and rubbed his nose lightly. He was proud but still friendly.
The next was a white mare, so light she looked almost silver. She watched me approach and nuzzled my hand.
“Oh, you’ve gone for Gloria. She’s my favorite. I would have picked her for you, myself.”
“Do you take care of the horses all the time?”
“No. I’d love to, though. Just don’t have the time with school. We have a stable master and a few grooms. They keep the horses and take them to shows and things like that. They’re out at a show right now. Should be back tomorrow.”
Teddy carried a saddle to Gloria’s stall.
“Come on Gloria, how does a nice ride sound?” She nickered and nodded her head.
I laughed. “She certainly knows how to get her point across.”
“You’ll never meet a smarter horse.” He threw a glance over his shoulder at the black gelding. “No offense, Shadow.”
Shadow didn’t respond.
“That’s Sin’s horse,” he explained.
“I should have guessed.”
Teddy led Gloria from the stall and got her all set up for me. Once the bridle was set, he helped me up and adjusted the stirrups.
“Feel good?” He ran a hand down Gloria’s mane.
“Yep. I think this is just right. Thanks, Teddy.” I loved being astride a horse. It made me feel so tall, powerful.
“My pleasure.” He led Gloria and me from the shady stables out into the dappled light.
“Now, like I said, I don’t know the deal, but I’m pretty sure I’d be in big trouble if you rode off into the sunset and never came back.” He squinted up at me.
“Not on your watch, Teddy. I promise.”
“All right then. Head that way if you want to ride past the lake and over the levee. There are some pulp woods over there if you want trees above you, or you could ride back toward the house. It’s up to you.”
“I think I’ll see the lake.”
“Good choice.” He looked up. “Don’t stay out here too long. When it’s warm like this, storms aren’t far behind.”
“I won’t. It’s been a long time since I’ve ridden. My ass will be sore in no time.” I blushed. What did I just say?
He chuckled. “Fair enough.”
I set off at a slow trot, following the road. Teddy roared off on his ATV back to the house. I hoped his date went well.
He was right about the day being unseasonably warm. I shed my jacket and tied it around my waist. I spurred Gloria on a little faster and she was happy to oblige. Maybe she’d been cooped up for too long, just like me. She was a smooth ride, her pace perfect. Someone had clearly loved on her and trained her well.
Before long, we were racing through the grass. The wind whipped against my face and my hair flew out behind me. I loved every second of it. Fear mixed with exhilaration as I leaned down and gripped her mane. The sun bathed my face in light and delicious heat.
We’d sped for miles, the stables long gone and only the encroaching woods and the thinner strip of grass next to the road in our view. Out here, away from the house, the grounds were far less manicured, the grass high and wild.
We startled some deer in an open field as we hurtled past, sending them scattering for the trees, their white tails up in alarm. Gloria didn’t seem to mind. She powered ahead, free and fast, the wind a song of liberation in our ears.
After a few more minutes of a full-on gallop, I pulled back on the reins, slowing her down and sitting back upright. I guided her back onto the road and we clip-clopped over a bridge spanning a wide bayou branch. Fish swam in the waters beneath us and frogs sang in the trees. A few hundred yards ahead I caught the sparkle of a large span of water. The levee. We trotted up to the edge. It was a sizeable reservoir, the lake disappearing into wooded inlets far off in the distance.
On the far edge, I could just make out the straight lines of a cottage in the woods.
“Think there are alligators in there, Gloria?”
She nickered and nipped at the high grass.
Cattails grew along the sides of the water and lilypads floated here and there. A ramshackle dock and small wooden boat were abandoned nearby. The water darkened toward the center. How deep was it?
I guided Gloria further up the bank where a small retaining pond split off from the larger lake. A grassy berm separated the bodies of water. At the top, I dismounted and dropped to the ground. The last few cicadas of the summer played their song in the pines that hemmed in the water on all sides. I always associated the sound with hot days.
I let Gloria eat the high grass as I lay out on the ground, staring up at the passing clouds. I popped in the stolen earbuds and set Lucius’ iPod to random, listening to his eclectic mix of music as the sun smiled down, warming me with comforting beams.
I laced my fingers behind my head and closed my eyes.
***
Gloria’s loud whinny woke me. I must have dozed off in the warm sun. It was gone now, dark clouds hovering above, promising a downpour. A rumble of thunder had Gloria nuzzling at my head with her nose.
I got to my knees and then stood. “I’m up. I’m up. We’d better get back.”
I stowed the purloined iPod. As I clambered onto Gloria’s back, the clouds erupted, huge raindrops pelting us. Then the hail came, larger than anything that should ever fall from the sky. The size of golf balls, the ice hurt with each stinging impact. It would take half an hour, likely more, to get back to the stables. The only other shelter was the cottage in the woods I’d spotted earlier. I couldn’t see it anymore for the curtains of rain and the pelting hail, but it wasn’t far.
A piece struck my forehead and I felt warm blood running down my face.
Shit.
I couldn’t stay out in the open. I made my decision and urged Gloria toward the woods. We would have to ride the storm out in the cottage. The thunder gr
ew louder, the booming reverberating in my chest as lightning streaked across the sky.
We made it to the tree line, the branches above blocking out or at least slowing down the balls of hail. Gloria whinnied as a streak of lightning led to a deafening crack of thunder. I stroked her mane.
“It’s okay, girl. We just have to make it to the cottage.”
I led her through the trees, heading to where I remembered the cottage sat. Or at least I thought I was. We were in the heart of the storm, gloom and sheets of rain cutting visibility down to nearly nothing.
I urged her on. The cottage had to be nearby. I hoped I hadn’t missed it in the murky woods. We went a little farther, but there was still no sign of the cottage. We must have just passed it. I turned Gloria around to double back.
The rain seemed to let up a little bit, a brief respite. Maybe the storm was passing and we could head back to the stables instead of trying to ride it out? Then, a strange sensation shot through my body, like a tingling. Oh, no.
“Gloria, go!” I cried.
Too late. Lightning struck so near us that Gloria reared back and threw me. I hit a tree trunk. The deafening boom of thunder was the last thing I heard.
Chapter Eighteen
Sinclair
I made it to the front porch before a heavy rain began to fall. Then came the hail. Good thing I’d parked in the garage. Once inside, I pulled my coat off and handed it to Farns before loosening my tie.
“She in the library?” I asked.
“No, Mr. Sinclair. I believe she and Teddy went out for a ride.”
“Not smart.” Teddy would take care of her, at least. An image of Stella in a wet t-shirt floated through my mind. The thought of her with Teddy was no longer so palatable. “I guess I’ll go see if they made it out of the rain.”
“Very good, sir.” Farns smiled.
I climbed the stairs two at a time to my room. I stripped out of my suit and dressed in a t-shirt and jeans. I was ripping a raincoat from its hanger when a rhythmic banging wafted to my ears.
