Train Me Daddy

Did he say what I think he said, “Three months?” I whisper as I think about this family and the fucking curse that must be on it. I can’t deal with another death or be a part of it. That’s why the bottle’s safe; it makes me forget my fucking nightmares.

“I’m not sticking around and watching you die. And I’m not getting married. You can leave all your money to charity for all I fucking care,” I’m slurring, and my vision is blurry, that’s when I feel a hand by my side.

“Trevor,” I look up as I see Granddad’s driver supporting my weight.

“What the fuck do you want?”

He doesn’t blink; sometimes I think that the man’s a fucking robot. He’s so damn emotionless. “Your granddad said that I should drive you home.”

“I don’t want Olivia to see you in this state, and I need you to sleep on it.”

Maybe I should stay so that she’ll see what her precious boss has lined up for her. But as Trevor practically drags me to my car. I know that I have no choice, Trevor’s going to take me home. He’ll do whatever my granddad tells him to do, and unfortunately, I’m not in any state to argue with him. Then again, I’m not in any state to do anything right now.

Chapter Two

Olivia

Isaac’s hot! I can’t believe we have never met. I’ve been working here for a couple of years and have never met him. I’ve seen pictures of him around the house, but the man’s changed. I’ll ride Autumn for a while, ever since she injured her leg, she’s been a bit nervous about riding. Gareth, the vet said that I just need to give her time, but I can’t help myself. I hate seeing her this way. Especially when she was so vibrant before the injury.

I smile as I think about the way he was looking at me. Then again, Isaac’s out of my league. I’m penniless, which is why I’m working and living on Neil’s ranch. I never used to be when both of my parents had jobs working on the ranch. Things were just great on the surface. But Dad couldn’t stop drinking. One sip and he took to it like a duck to water.

If Dad hadn’t insisted on driving home after the party that night and ran his Mercedes off a bridge into a river thirty feet deep, then he would still be alive. However, I’m sure his drinking had become so bad he couldn’t function at work. I just hadn’t seen the signs. I was too caught up in thinking about going to college. Then again, that became a distant dream when I found out that my college fund was only something that dad talked about, but never set-up.

I turn around as I walk away, but Neil and Isaac are in a heated discussion. I found myself speechless in his presence. I wanted to say something, but then my mouth was shut firmly, and all I could do was think about his emerald eyes and dark hair. His features are the complete opposite of Neil’s, who has dark hair, but matching eyes. Maybe Isaac will stay for lunch, and I’ll get to know him better.

I love the ranch, especially the stables. The smell of hay and horses seems to have gotten in my blood. The barn with its arched entrance and wide lane down the center makes me feel the way I do when walking into a church. I get a spiritual boost.

Gee, I love Autumn, the chestnut colored mare that Neil gave me. She tosses her head up and down when she spots me. It’s her way of greeting me. My hand immediately goes to her forehead to scratch her. After a brief hug and a kiss on her nose I enter her stall, taking a brush and comb to her long mane. God, being around horses is one of the reasons I love the ranch. I think I like horses better than people.

As much as I’m trying to focus on Autumn, my mind keeps drifting to Isaac. I hope I get to know him better. I shake my head. Stop with your silly daydreaming. I quickly finish my rounds in the stables as I want to hurry back home, get changed and see if Isaac’s still around. I feel like a little school girl with a major crush on someone that I’ve just met. But there’s something about him, which intrigues me. Maybe if he stays for lunch, then I can talk to him about spending more time with Neil. I think that he misses his family, sometimes he just stands in the hall looking at their pictures, and Isaac is his only living relative.

“Okay, Autumn, you’ve had your brushing, and you’re good for the day.” I hug her neck as she bends it to look at me with her big brown eyes. “I hate to leave you,” I look at my watch and realize that it’s nearly lunch time. It’s amazing how time goes so quickly when you’re having fun and dreaming about your boss’s grandson.

“Autumn, I need to get going. I’ll catch up with you later.” I smile and leave her to wash my hands. I wonder if she does understand everything I say. Maybe Neil’s right, that we’re like sisters that were separated at birth, but there’s just one problem. She’s a horse, and I’m not. I laugh at his observation, and then I sigh as I think about leaving the stables. I know the real reason that I’m going to see Isaac isn’t so much because he’s lonely, but I am at the best of times. I walk across the manicured lawn to the back door of the house, thinking about the rest of the ranch hands, they think that because I live in the same house as Neil that we’re sleeping together. We have separate rooms, and Neil’s never treated me as more than anything but the daughter that he never had. This is the problem with small towns, the tongues start wagging, and everyone has ideas even if they have no foundation for them. I try and be friendly to everyone, but they treat me as if I have the plague or something. I smell the roasting chicken before I enter and soon forget about my loneliness. I catch Neil peeking in the oven.

“If you’re hungry, we can eat any time,” he says glancing at the kitchen clock. “The chicken’s done. It’ll only take me a few minutes to do the rice and broccoli?”

Great, plenty of time to have a quick shower and then I remember why I didn’t do all my chores. I wanted to see Isaac.

“Where’s Isaac? Isn’t he going to have lunch with us?”

“He had to leave. I tried to get him to stay but he refused,” his voice changes from being friendly to being cold.

“Oh, that’s too bad,” I want to say more, ask maybe why they were arguing when I left. But I know that it’s none of my business. Neil’s my employer and I’m his ranch hand.

“Yeah, I really wanted him to stay for lunch, but he does what he wants these days.” Neil sighs. “I don’t seem to know him as well as I used to. We were so close when he was growing up, but now he’s seems to have drifted away from me and the ranch,” he hesitates before saying it, “I think he has the same problem your dad had with the bottle.”

Oh, he likes to drink too much. He seems clean shaven and not the type. Then again I didn’t know that my dad had a problem until it was too late.

“I just thought that my dad liked having a drink after working. I never knew that it was more than that,” I feel stupid whenever I think back. It’s always clear when you look back at things to see the signs, but I was thinking about going to college, enjoying high school and worrying about whether my dad was a drunk never featured into it.

“I’m afraid it’s more than that,” he sighs as he sits down on the breakfast stool.

“Really?” I decide to forget taking a shower and just help Neil in the kitchen. I put the oven roasted chicken on the table. “It can cool a bit. The broccoli and rice are coming right up.”

“Good I’m getting hungrier by the second.”

“So, what exactly is Isaac’s problem?”