Love Begins with Fate (23 page)

“Really and how much of a discount would I get?” He questioned. The sheriff really liked Kelsey. Her parents had been great friends of his and he still continued to play cards with
James on a monthly basis. At one time he had hoped Kelsey would be interested in his oldest son but both of them had had different ideas on love.

“Yep, I say a fifty percent discount might
suffice?” Kelsey shrugged.

“That is pretty generous, if I do say so myself. I might just have to take you up on that.” He said.

“Well that’s great.” Kelsey smiled as she gripped onto Sweetie’s halter and tugged her out of the stall, dragging her toward the tie down station.

The two foals quickly trotted after their mother, “Look at the way they move.” The sheriff smiled. The two babies glided down the aisle behind their mother. “They are going to be smooth riders.”

“Yeah I should say so. Their father is an amazing horse.” Kelsey told him.

The sheriff and Kelsey later put the horses out to pasture before saying goodbye. The sheriff promised to bring the money by
later in the week and made sure to update Kelsey on Dylan’s charges before leaving.

The rest of the day went by quickly
. Kelsey went out with Nick to fix a few fences and then returned back to the house for dinner. After dinner Kelsey dragged herself up to her room and into the shower before bed.

Chapter 38

The next morning there was a quick knock on Kelsey’s door before her mother announced herself. “Kelsey.” Suzie called.

“Mom?” Kelsey mumbled sitting up in bed. She turned her head toward the door and rubbed her eyes.

“Yeah, I didn’t have any time to come later so…” Suzie paused. “Where’s your fiancé?” she quirked an eyebrow.

Kelsey looked beside her then back at her mom “Oh, uh Parker had to go back to his house for a few days. You know pack some stuff up.” Kelsey lied.

“Oh well that’s too bad. Anyway, I will be packing up my things and then I’ll be out of your hair.” She said walking off toward her old bedroom.

Kelsey groaned and rubbed her head before sliding from the bed and into the bathroom to change. Afterward she made her way to the kitchen for lunch before she felt the need to check on her mother.

“My mother’s upstairs.” Kelsey told Annie.

“Yeah dear, I let her in.” Annie sighed. “Are you going to help her? I can send Nick up…”

“Yeah, why don’t you. I will go on up and see if she needs help as well.” Kelsey sighed.

Suzie had boxes laid out on the floor with various things stuffed inside them. “Well there isn’t much.” Suzie shrugged. “Most of this is junk if you want it you can keep it otherwise maybe donate it…” Kelsey groaned.

“Sure mom. Just take what you want. We’ll get it cleaned out of what we don’t want later.” She assured her mother.

“Well I think I’m done.” Suzie told Kelsey only about two hours later. The things she didn’t want had been tossed around the room and it looked as if a tornado had hit. “I’m sorry again about the mess.”

“Yeah…” Kelsey groaned. “It’s fine.” She had yet to decide what she really wanted to
do with the room. Her mother had left all the furniture and nearly everything but her clothing. Maybe this was the room Nick would stay in.

“I’ve got to get going sweetheart. Could you help me carry this?” Suzie asked gripping onto a
box.

Kelsey looked toward the door as Nick had just walked by and quickly acted. Sticking her head out
, she bellowed “Nick.” It was a yell and a cooing sound at the same time.

Nick groaned, he must have t
hought he had gone by unnoticed. He turned sharply around “yes Kelsey.”

“Mind helping…” Kelsey asked shyly.

“Anything for you darling” He replied and walked into the room. Really there wasn’t much which had to be moved. Suzie had shoved all the boxes of things she wanted toward the door and held one in her hand.

Once they carried the small bit of stuff down stairs and loaded it up into Suzie’s tiny car, she quickly hugged her daughter. “I’ll come back for dinner one of these nights. Maybe help you plan that wedding?” Suzie offered.

Though she was a mother, she hadn’t been a very good one for a while now. Kelsey and Ryder both, were accustomed to the lack of parenting, yet sometimes they both just wanted the attention. “Yeah, maybe” Kelsey told her. “See ya then mom.”

Kelsey watched as the car drove down the long road leading away from the house. A tear slowly slipped from her eye and Nick wrapped her into a hug. “Come along
, we’ll go eat dinner.”

Chapter 39

Thursday… today was Thursday. Kelsey groaned as Annie whipped the curtains open in her room. “Now listen up young miss. I know you are upset about
you’re whatever he is to you leaving…”

“Fiancé
” Kelsey added.

Annie eyed her “Sure. Anyway, I understand, but you have a life to attend to. You are being lazy. Not getting up till almost noon! That’s ridiculous. Today you are going to get up, shower, come down for breakfast and then I’ll help you pack your bag for your trip. You will go out check on the animals and meet some of the new hires
, which you have ignored. You will see your ‘fiancé’ tomorrow.” Annie purposely quoted the word and eyed the girl again.

“Okay.” Kelsey agreed. “I’ll get up.”

Annie watched sternly as Kelsey made her way into the bathroom for her shower. “If you’re not downstairs in thirty I’m coming back up with some help.” Annie warned.

Kelsey stiffened. She had known Annie’s help from one time before, well, it depended on the help Annie enlisted. There was a few times she had help in the form of a dog or two, another time she had help in the
way of ice water, but there was the one time which she had actually acquired physical help. Though Kelsey’s the boss here at her ranch, Annie stood her ground and acted like the mother that Kelsey’s mother should have been. She wasn’t the strongest or biggest of women, so one day Kelsey flat out refused to move from her bed Annie had enlisted the help of Mark.

Annie had whipped the sheets off Kelsey’s bed and Mark quickly grabbed hold of Kelsey’s waist, hoisting her up onto his shoulder. That wouldn’t have been horribly intolerable other than the fact that she had barely any clothes on due to the heat. Then he did as Annie had requested and carried her all the way out to the pig pen and tossed her into the mud. It had taken her nearly an hour to
shower off just the nasty smelling mud from her hair.

No longer did Kelsey tread lightly on Annie’s warnings. She quickly hopped into the shower and did her thing. Once she was finished she tied her hair up into a messy bun pulled on her clothing and made her way down stairs.

Annie presented the girl with a delicious homemade sticky bun for breakfast and a couple slices of bacon then she proceeded to sit down with Kelsey. “I know I am not your mother…” Annie began.

“
You’re more than a mother than my own.” Kelsey offered with a small smile.

“Thank you dear. I try. Anyway, I know I’m not your mother but you can’t let life slip away. As far as I have ever noticed this Mister MacKay is the only boy you have liked. Whether you screwed up or he, you can fix this and make it right. Bring him back with you or move to him. I really don’t want to lose my job but if the time has come for you to give up the farm and move to the city
, well then so be it.” Annie sighed.

“I am not going to move to the city. I don’t belong there.” Kelsey offered as reassurance. “I’ll try my best but I don’t
know if he’ll want to see me, let alone move here...”

“Oh he does.” Annie smirked knowingly. “Now, if you are finished… I’ll help you pack your things.”

That was how the day had gone. Kelsey had Annie’s help in packing her bag. Annie suggested in the ‘I know what you will be doing’ type way what clothing Kelsey should bring and Kelsey shrugged going along with it.

Afterward Kelsey helped Annie prepared lunch for the guys and then she went out and helped the new hires as she got to know them better. Kelsey really had only interviewed the two, Dylan and
Mika. Mika had worked out great; she was a great worker and knew her place quite well. Dylan on the other hand was back at the jail house still awaiting his fate.

Kelsey eventually turned in early. Annie would be bringing her to the airport early in the morning. The drive was nearly an hour and a half, so Kelsey turned in early.

Chapter 40

“Up child!”
Annie screeched as she walked through the room. Kelsey yelped as she quickly sat up from the interruption to her dream.

It was a good dream at that, one that had reminded her of her last night with
Parker. They were in the middle of a steamy session when Annie had burst through the doors and flicked on the lights. To say Kelsey was a little hot and bothered was an understatement.

“Goodness!” Kelsey roared. “You scared the daylights out of me.”

“Kelsey, the daylight hasn’t even graced your face yet, now get up we need to leave. I told you to set the alarm.” Annie groaned. She had but Kelsey had forgotten.

“Sorry.” Kelsey mumbled slipping into her jeans and tank. She had also grabbed a
sweatshirt in case the flight was cold. Together the girls made their way down to Annie’s car, which had been previously packed with Kelsey’s bags, then drove off toward the airport.

“Have a good flight darling.” Annie offered as she hugged Kelsey at the terminal gate. “Just remember, he does want to see you too. He misses you.”

“Thanks Annie. I’ll see you on Monday.”

“We’ll see darling” Annie mumbled so low Kelsey hadn’t heard.

Kelsey’s flight home would be late Sunday night and would arrive at way to early in the morning but Annie promised someone would be there to pick her up if she was to come back home.

Kelsey boarded the plane and relaxed
into her seat. She hoped there would be something decent on the in-flight movie or else she was going to be overly bored. She had made a pack with herself to purchase a tablet from the mall while in the city and she was hoping to enlist Parker’s help.

Sure enough
, the movie on the flight didn’t keep Kelsey’s interest very well. She had found herself drifting off before long and sleeping the entirety of the flight. When the plane finally landed Kelsey groaned and stretched. She could only imagine what she had looked like now and was hoping that it wouldn’t be too embarrassing.

She stepped from the plane and began to look around for her bags. The baggage claim had been quite full today, since it was the beginning of the weekend. She pulled the first of her two bags from the turn table quickly but the second had yet to appear.

As Kelsey continued to watch the bags go around, when a voice behind her made her smile and turn around. “Kelsey!” Hannah screamed.

“Hannah!” Kelsey screamed back running into the girl’s open arms. The two hugged tightly, “Long time no see.”

“I don’t know how I survive without you. Maybe I’ll convince Ryder to …” Hannah began.

“He isn’t going to move to the ranch.” Kels
ey said with a roll of her eyes, “but you can visit anytime.”

“Oh,” Hannah whimpered. “I’ve missed you.”

The two girls grabbed the final of Kelsey’s bags and then walked out toward the doors. “Why are you picking me up anyway?” Kelsey asked.

“Oh well… Ryder’s busy with football.” Kelsey could tell her friend was lying but she let it slip.

“Hmm… so, do you want to go get something to eat before we head back?” Kelsey asked.

“Oh, no… Ryder’s expecting us…” Hannah muttered as she got into Ryder’s corvette.

“So he’s letting you drive his car?”

“Don’t go there right now. We have to…” Hannah stopped herself and turned her head back to the road. “So how was the flight?”

Kelsey frowned. “Hannah what are you hiding?” Kelsey grumbled.

“Nothing, I just am so happy to see you.” Hannah lied again.

Kelsey shook her head and pressed herself back into the seat and closed her eyes. “Fine then, I’m taking a nap.”

That was okay with Hannah, she could get her friend to the destination without much fuss a lot easier that way. A half hour later and Hannah p
ulled up to a large iron gate. She rolled down the window and pressed the intercom button.

“Yes?” a man on the other side said.

“I’m here for Parker MacKay. It’s Hannah.” Hannah said as quietly as she could. She was trying not to wake Kelsey and cause her to panic but it was too late.

“What?
” Kelsey sat up quickly. “Where are you taking me Hannah?” She snapped.