"They smell," Mary announced.
Rick turned to find Charles and Mary in an argument.
"Come on, Mary. See this as an opportunity to experience something new. That's what you keep telling me about that cruise."
"But cruises don't smell."
"Ah," Harv said, limping up to them, "then cruises are missing out! Manure is the best smell in the world!"
Mary wrinkled her nose in great distaste while Louisa laughed. "It's kind of like you and your kids, Mary."
"My kids do not smell!"
"How long have you had this place?" Charles asked, taking several steps from his wife as if not wanting to be associated with her anymore.
"Oh, about four years now."
"And you never ride the horses?" Louisa asked.
"No, we ride them. They need the exercise."
Louisa bounced forward a little. "Can WE ride them?"
Harv laughed. "I don't see why not! Do you know how to ride?"
"She should," Charles joined in. "Or my Dad wasted a lot of money on those horse lessons!"
"Of course I can ride! Can you ride, Rick?"
"He better," Harv said, "Or I wasted MY lessons."
Louisa's eyes widened. "Did you use this place for PTD?"
Rick smiled. "PTSD and no, I helped him set it up. In return, he insisted I learned how to ride. But I can't ride in these clothes." He indicated his suit.
"Don't try using that excuse," Harv said with a grin. "I've got a spare set of clothes you can use."
Rick laughed. "I thought you'd offer that."
"What are friends for than to make sure you don't get out of anything, eh? Can everyone else ride?" Harv asked, looking at Charles and Mary.
Charles nodded vigorously, but Mary shook her head, a sour expression on her face. But then, she always seemed to dislike everything.
"What about her?" Harv asked and Rick knew he pointed at Anne. Trying to act nonchalant, he turned and found Anne still chatting with James, the usually shy boy appearing very involved in the conversation. How had she done that? He'd know James for several years and still struggled to hold a conversation with the boy.
"Anne!" Louisa called and Anne turned, catching Rick's eye. He immediately focused on Louisa who continued talking, "They said we could ride the horses. Can you ride?"
"Anne can't ride," Mary answered as if she had been asked the question instead of Anne. "She's never ridden, like me."
Louisa rolled her eyes. "There can always be a first time."
"We have good horses that can handle first-timers," James offered.
Anne put on her polite smile. He was surprised he recognized it. It was the same smile she wore when she dealt with her sisters or father. "Sure, that sounds nice."
He frowned, the old anger rising once again. There she was again, letting others push her around, convincing her to do whatever they wanted instead of sticking up for herself. He focused on Louisa, glad he'd never have to worry about her being forced into doing something she didn't want. She was too stubborn for that.
Proving his point, Louisa insisted on riding the fastest horse. Harv wasn't too keen on the idea at first and glanced at Rick to help in dissuading her, but Rick shrugged. "Let her try. If she falls off, then she won't get to ride again."
"Me? Fall? As if!" Louisa giggled and playfully slapped his arm. "More likely you'll be the one that falls off."
Rick chuckled. "We'll see."
He headed for the farmhouse while everyone else went to the barn. Inside, he found Harv's wife, Star, at the kitchen table, surrounded by paperwork.
"Hey, Rick!" She rose to her feet. "Harv mentioned you had brought several girlfriends."
Rick laughed. "I brought friends; several who happen to be female, but that's it."
"Hmm, Harv's version was a lot more exciting."
"Anything Harv says is more exciting than it actually is."
She laughed. "What brings you in here? Trying to get out of riding a horse?"
"Nope, here to get changed into a promised set of spare clothes."
"You'll find them in the laundry room like last time."
He nodded and headed down, grabbing the clothes and making a quick change in the bathroom. He hung up his suit, though he knew Star would end up getting it cleaned. Even if he told her not to, she'd end up doing it anyway. It was just their way.
When he entered the barn, he found Louisa saddling her own horse. Harv came up to Rick and pointed to a gathered set of saddle stuff. "That's for the second fastest horse. Try to keep up with her, okay?"
"Not much faith in me, huh?"
Harv clapped him on the back. "I know an eager woman when I see one, and you're already failing to pick up on that."
Rick laughed. "No, I know where the wind is blowing with her."
"And you're already trying to avoid it, huh? Still pining for that one girl?"
Rick resisted checking for Anne but forced a smile on his face. "Habits die hard, I guess." Before Harv could say anything else, he headed for his horse. A quick glance showed Anne had been too far away to overhear the conversation. Besides, she still chatted with James, probably completely unaware that Rick was even in the barn.
Rick focused on saddling his horses and ignored the stabs of jealousy-- no, he wasn't jealous. It was just random pain that intensified every second James remained in Anne's company. It was also a ridiculous pain. James was very good with a horse. It would make sense he'd stay with someone who had never ridden. And James badly needed someone to talk to, especially since he'd lost his fiancé last year. Anne was the perfect person to quell that pain. She'd always been good with people, bringing them out of their shells. And why was he praising her again?
Annoyed, he mounted the horse and trotted out of the barn and away from Anne and her hypnotizing influence. Louisa soon joined him and, after Harv opened the gate, they trotted out into the woods.
"Where should we go?" Rick asked, figuring Louisa would want to make the decisions. Anne would have expressed a desire to go wherever he wanted. But he wasn't with Anne, was he?
"Anywhere where we can run!"
Rick chuckled. "The horses aren't bred for speed."
"But this horse is!" She kicked its sides and it jumped into a gallop. Rick spurred his own horse in order to catch her, but with her having the fastest horse and a headstart, it wasn't going to happen.
"Beat you!" She said as the trail ended.
Rick laughed. "You had an unfair head start!"
"Fine. You start first this time."
Rick took her on her word and took off. Louisa nearly caught up with him by the time they reached the barn.
"Re-match!" She called out but Rick, not used to riding horses in a long time, knew his rear-end would need a break. Knowing Louisa's stubbornness, she'd ride until the sun set which was hours away. "How about we go inside? Harv has this fantastic old piano--" It was out before he knew it. That would entice Anne, not Louisa.
But to his surprise, her eyes lit up. "Ooo, I'd love to try it!" She hopped off the horse and tossed the reigns onto the nearby fence as if expecting a servant to appear and lead the horse away. Rick swung off his horse and grabbed the reigns of her horse, not pleased with how she acted as if she owned the place. Neither did she seem to realize how easy it was for the horse to accidentally step on the long reigns and injure itself. She may have ridden horses, but someone failed to teach her how to respect the animals.
Louisa was already in the farmhouse by the time he caught up with her, settling herself at the old piano. He discovered Charles and Mary were also in the farmhouse, sitting on the couch with a conspicuous gap in between them and a tense air around them.
Star, guessing the situation, filled the silence with trivia of the old farmhouse. Charles leaned forward with interest while Mary scowled and Louisa sat impatiently, obviously not interested. Anne would have at least donned on a polite smile and made Star feel welcomed--and why was he thinking of her again? She wasn't even in
the room!
Louisa rescued him from his thoughts by instructing where he must sit in order to enjoy her concert. Seeing no reason to argue, he obeyed, then he fought to keep his irritation in check when Louisa ordered Harv and Star, the owners of the house, on where to sit. The latter, always a good sport, complied with Louisa's wishes without complaint and Harv gave Rick a wink as if hinting the girl was a keeper.
Rick resisted rolling his eyes. Louisa was a fine girl, pretty and certainly very stubborn, but not as kind as he would want his wife to be. Not to mention he never felt that fiery fire he'd once felt eight years ago and which would roar to life whenever a certain chocolate eyed girl wandered into his vicinity.
Louisa began to play, apparently doing a piece from memory. It was a complicated piece, designed to impress. He could tell she must have practiced a lot. But like before, he couldn't help comparing her playing to Anne's. Rick sighed inside. Anne was like a ghost, constantly haunting him. He needed to move on. She had already had, so why couldn't he?
The song ended and Rick immediately applauded as if his thoughts had been on Louisa instead of another girl. Feeling guilty, he asked Louisa to play another song. She beamed and immediately complied, again playing a difficult piece by memory. Alas, his thoughts wandered toward a certain chocolate eyed girl once again. Was she still with James? Had she managed to get him to laugh again? What did she think of him? An annoying part of him hoped she found James lacking in comparison with himself, but his logical side knew that wouldn't be true. He was below dirt in her eyes. Anyone else was better than him.
Chapter 13
Louisa finished and stood up for a gracious bow. Rick was a few seconds late, but he joined in the clapping with everyone else. As Louisa swept up from her bow, her eyes lit up on something directly behind him.
"Anne!"
Rick tensed. How long had she been there? He turned to find her behind him, looking quite pretty with tendrils of hair escaping that constant messy bun of hers. And standing beside her was James who seemed determined to stay by her side. That pang--it was NOT jealousy--bugged him again.
Louisa rushed forward. "Come, you must play so I can sing!"
Anne backed up as if that was the last thing she wanted. Rick was surprised. Playing the piano was the one thing she seemed to love to do. Then again, she never seemed to enjoy doing it for others. Well, except for him.
"I'm sure others can play," Anne said.
"I can't," Harv piped up and everyone seemed to nod with him.
Anne backed up further as if desperate. "Rick can play."
He looked at Anne in shock, her brown eyes boring into him as if daring him to refuse the fact.
"You play?" Louisa gushed as if he had just proposed marriage to her.
Now it was his turn to back away from Louisa. "No, I don't play--"
"Come on, Rick!" Harv called. "I've caught you practicing enough times to know that's a lie."
Rick could have throttled Harv. Of course, he was not going to let him get out of this. But no way was he going to play in front of Anne. He didn't want her to know how much he had practiced, hoping to one day be able to come back and impress her. He wasn't ready for that moment. Wasn't good enough. Not for Anne.
Alas, Louisa managed to snag his hand. "Come! You must play so I can sing!"
Rick desperately looked around for anyone to get him out of this, but his friends and Louisa's family just cheered while Anne looked away, refusing to help.
That old anger roared within him and he abruptly sat down at the piano. Fine then, today would be that day. He started pounding out a song he had memorized, the one Brandon had insisted was a good, impressive song to learn. But no matter how well he played, it still lacked that quality that Anne's music had. Even though he played the notes well enough and managed to maintain the timing, it still lacked that depth, that soul, that something that sucked him in every time Anne played.
He finally finished the song and held still, letting the notes hang in the air, his breath freezing in his lungs. Now was the moment. Would Anne finally be impressed? Would she see him as something of worth at long last?
Too nervous to check Anne's face, he focused on his shoes as he stood up and bowed. Applause erupted around him. He straightened and made a point to smile at his friends, at Louisa and her brother and sister-in-law, then pulled back his shoulders, defiant, ready for Anne's condemnation--and found she wasn't even in the room.
It was like a punch to the gut. She'd been so disgusted, she hadn't even bothered to listen to the entire piece. Had walked out, like she'd done to his life, tossing his heart out the door.
That old anger roared. This was why he refused to fall in love with her again. She didn't care. Would never care.
"That was wonderful," Louisa began, "But that's not a song I knew to sing to. How about you play--"
"Why are we doing this?" Mary abruptly asked. "You can sing and play at home."
"Mary," Charles warned in a low voice.
"Don't Mary me. I'm tired and I want to go home. Now." She stood up and huffed out. Charles scrambled to his feet, apologizing to the Harville before following after his wife.
Rick looked at his friends who both looked rather uncertain of what to do. "It's okay. It's not your fault."
"Yeah," Louisa chimed in. "She's always like that. Come, let's go riding again before Mary drags us all home."
Rick forced a smile. "Sure." Maybe a good run will help burn off the anger within. "Let's take the back door," he offered. He didn't want to run into an angry Mary. He didn't think he'd be able to keep his cool this time.
"Great idea!" She pranced along with him as they headed out the back and around the house toward the barn.
"Sorry about that," Louisa began and Rick realized he hadn't said a word since they had left the house. She probably thought his anger was about Mary.
"It's fine--"
"Mary can be such a pill sometimes," Louisa continued as if she had a prepared speech. He decided to let her continue it. "We all wish Charles had gone for Anne instead."
Rick nearly fell flat on his face but managed to catch the side of the house just in time. "Charles liked Anne?"
"Yeah," Louisa said as if it was no big deal. "They met at college in a study group and he was really smitten. I remember him coming home and talking nonstop about her. But after a few dates, she ended the relationship, giving a lame excuse."
"Oh?" he wanted to know this lame excuse. Was it like the one she had given to him, that she had to finish high school and go to college first?
"She told him her heart already belonged to another."
He stopped dead in his tracks. "She did?"
"Yeah, which we all know was false since Anne has never shown an interest in anyone."
Rick couldn't believe it. Charles was a good looking man. Shorter, but he made it up with muscle and broadness. And he had a great family that would have adored Anne. She would have flourished with Charles and doted on his kids, becoming the perfect mother.
But she had turned him down. Was that because of Rick? He couldn't kill the hope that rose within. Had her heart still been his somehow? But if that was so, why hadn't she said anything?
"When did this all happen?"
"Mmm, six years now? She introduced him to Mary and now you see where that ended up."
"Does Anne still claim her heart is taken?" It was a dangerous topic, but he had to know.
"If you can get her on the topic, yeah, but I don't believe it. I mean, if she really loved someone that much to hang on for this many years, then why hasn't she gone after him? If I ever loved a man like that, I would have hunted him down and never let him go. I would have fought the entire world to make sure he was mine."
Rick forced a laugh. How he wished Anne had done that. "Yes, you would. No one could have persuaded you otherwise, I'm sure."
"Yep!" Louisa quipped with a wide grin. "What about you?" She asked as they entered the barn. "Have you ever loved someone?"
She was fishing, wanting to know where she stood with his heart. Unfortunately, despite his best efforts, he was afraid a chocolate eyed girl still ruled it. But he'd never admit that.
Wanting to avoid the entire topic, he said, "I'm twenty-six and never married. What do you think?" He untied the reigns for their horses. She seemed rather perturbed by his evasive answer, but he swung up onto his horse. "Come on, we have a few hours left of daylight. Let's race."
That spurred her into action and she scurried onto her horse. They broke into a gallop the instant they left the barn, Louisa's horse edging past his. But his mind wasn't in the race. It was on Anne. Like him, she had never married. Had even refused an offer. He couldn't help wishing it was because of him. If he knew she still loved him--
But what would it matter if she did? Her family would dissuade her from being his, just like they did eight years ago.
If only Anne would stop caring what her family thought of him!
Louisa won the race, pulling her horse up as they reached the end of the pasture.
"Beat you again!"
He whirled his horse around. "Doesn't count until we get to the barn!" He called over his shoulder, urging his horse onward, hoping those extra minutes would finally give him the edge to beat her. But his horse wasn't fast enough and Louisa soon overtook him. He kept his horse at top speed, though, even as they neared the barn, hoping she'd slow down first. But he soon realized playing chicken with Louisa was going to get them both killed, so he reigned in his horse seconds before entering the gate. Louisa, showing off, reigned in her horse inside the fenced area, causing dirt to spray about. Despite the chaos, Rick's eyes found Anne as if drawn to her. She stood outside of the railing with Charles, the man she had refused. It was rather impressive they had such a good relationship despite Charles being rejected by Anne. But then, Charles may not have loved Anne like he had, especially since Charles had not only fallen for Mary but had assumed she was of the same quality as Anne.
"And I'm the winner once again!" Louisa cried, jolting Rick out of his thoughts.
Persuading Her: A Modern Persuasion Retelling (Pemberley Estates Book 2) Page 10
