21. A Ballgown & Boots
A Ballgown & Boots
The next week and a half passed in a blur.
I continued my work with the horses and riders as I always did, but I no longer volunteered to do more.
It killed me a little inside each day not to be the one whispering to them before bed or to give them extra treats, or to even be involved in their training.
But Casey’s refusal to let me help more was a sure sign that she was preparing to run the ranch without me. So I took that sign and ran with it.
Instead, I used the time to sneak boxes into my room and fill them.
And by the night before the Halloween ball, my closet was full of packed suitcases and boxes.
I had a job at a local bakery lined up to start on the following Monday, and a friend had even volunteered to let Nevada stay with her horses until I found a more permanent place.
Everything was lined up and ready to go.
I was ready to go.
But, I told myself, tonight, I would go to the ball. Jaelyne would be crushed if I didn’t go with her as I’d promised, back when we were costume shopping.
I also knew that if Asher was back in town, I didn’t want him stumbling in on me at Margaret’s house until I’d had the chance to explain. According to Margaret, he wasn’t going to be in town for very long. Which meant I had one night to make this right.
And explain I would–in the sparkly costume dress I’d picked out with Jaelyne, complete with the crystal-studded tiara from Asher. If I had to make a humiliating apology and explanation, I smiled wryly to myself, what better way to do it than dressed like a princess?
When I emerged from the bedroom in my gown and tiara, I thought Casey’s eyes might fall out of her head. “Where on earth did you get that?” she asked.
I smiled and shrugged. “When Jaelyne and I went costume shopping.”
“Of course,” she muttered. Then she looked at my feet. “You’re wearing a ballgown with boots?”
“Of course boots,” I said, grinning even wider. “Always boots.”
Shaking her head and muttering something about stupid, Casey turned back toward the stairs where Harper and Jaelyne’s rooms were. “Aren’t you girls almost ready?”
“I’m ready! I’m ready! No need to shout!” Jaelyne grumbled as she made her way down the stairs. I grinned when I saw her. True, she was wearing the same costume that every other preteen girl in town had seemed to pick. But it did look really cute on her.
“Mom, how long do we get to stay tonight?” she asked as she stepped off the stairs. “Mary says there’s going to be a surprise at midnight, and Emmaleigh says the party is going to go all night!”
“I promise, we’ll be there for the surprise,” Casey said, her eyes glued to her phone.
“I don’t know about you all, but I’m staying until sunrise,” said Harper, not far behind Jaelyne. She was wearing a cat costume, complete with face makeup to look like a nose and whiskers.
A rather revealing cat costume.
And apparently, I wasn’t the only one to notice.
“Wow,” Jaelyne said, giving her sister a look. “That skirt is really short.”
“Shut up, Jaelyne!” Harper hissed.
But Casey had looked up from her phone and had noticed as well. “Look, I’m going to go check on the horses one more time. Trudy was showing signs of being in early labor this afternoon. By the time I get back, Harper, I want to see you in something decent!”
Harper grumbled and stomped back up the stairs, muttering the whole time about how she was eighteen and could do what she wanted. But I didn’t get to see whether or not she did what her mother said because a moment later, Casey was back in the house.
“Ella!” she snapped. “Come here.”
I followed her out to the barn, lifting my skirt so it wouldn’t trail in the dust and mud. “What’s wrong? Is Trudy all right?”
“She should be progressing faster than this,” Casey said, coming to a stop in front of Trudy’s stall. “I need you to stay home and watch her.”
I turned to look at my stepmother as the depth of her demand hit me.
“Casey, I can’t stay home tonight. Asher’s back, and I have to talk to him.
” I hadn’t let on that I knew what Casey had done.
Doing so would have either made her very smug, allowing her to reinforce that she held the power in our dynamic, or it would have pushed her faster toward kicking me out.
And allowing her to kick me out without my horse did not figure into my plans.
Unfortunately, it seemed like she was determined to have a power struggle here and now.
“Well, you’ll just have to contact him later,” Casey said, crossing her arms. “You’d really leave one of your horses alone like this? What if something goes wrong? What if–”
“I thought they were your horses,” I interrupted, mirroring her stance and trying not to shiver from the cold.
Casey went completely still. “Since when do you not care?” she finally asked in a dangerously quiet voice.
“It’s not that I don’t care,” I said, lifting my chin. “It’s that I have other things right now that I have to care about more.” Then I huffed. “Casey, good grief. This isn’t hard! Call Derrick! He’s not planning on going to the ball. Have him stay with her.”
But rather than taking my easy solution, Casey’s expression only darkened. And I saw it the moment something inside of her changed.
“Ella Verre,” she said in that same quiet voice. “If you go to that ball tonight, you might as well not come back at all. And don’t expect to see any of those boxes in your closet or that horse over there ever again.”