Chapter 4
four
. . .
Wren
It had been a long week, and I was exhausted.
When I walked in the front door, Caroline was in the kitchen cooking, and my stomach growled at the smell of garlic and tomato sauce.
She’d been working for our family since I was young, and she lived in the guesthouse on our property.
She’d been our nanny as well, since my parents traveled often when I was growing up.
Douglas also lived on the property, in the casita off the pool. He’d been my father’s driver for as long as I could remember.
But it was quieter tonight when I stepped inside.
Three large suitcases sat by the front door, which had alarm bells going off.
My parents didn’t appear to be speaking, and I’d learned that they were filing for divorce in “The Taylor Tea.”
My father had been staying at his apartment in the city.
I’d barely spoken to him, aside from the hysterical phone call he’d received from me after he sold Wrax.
When I arrived home over a week ago, he’d made no apologies and told me that I would get over it, and then he’d stormed out of the house. I hadn’t seen him since.
My mother, on the other hand, had been furious at my father for selling my horse, although she’d failed to mention that she’d filed for divorce until I’d confronted her.
My mother was sitting at the banquette in the kitchen chatting with Caroline as she cooked.
“Hey, Mom,” I said, setting my bag on the counter. “Are you all right?”
She nodded slowly. “Yes, I’m great. Why do you ask?”
Because there are multiple suitcases at the door and you’ve filed for divorce?
Seemed obvious to me, but apparently not.
I leaned over and gave her a hug before making my way over to Caroline to give her a hug. She was very much a part of the family.
I slid into the banquette beside my mother. “I saw the suitcases by the door. Are you going somewhere?”
“I’m going to visit Aunt Becky for a little bit,” she said. She and her sister were very close, but I was caught off guard because this was coming out of left field. I’d just gotten here.
“Is the cancer back?” I asked, because my aunt had been in remission for several years.
“No. But the cancer in this house, a.k.a. your father, is more than I can handle.” She shrugged before sipping her martini and letting out a long breath. “I told you that I filed for divorce.”
“Well, yes. After it was written up in the newspaper and I asked you about it.” I snorted, and Caroline chuckled from where she stood at the stove.
“It’s complicated, Wren, and with your training and then your accident, and then Dad selling Wrax—I haven’t wanted to burden you.”
“Consider me burdened.” I blew out a breath. “Please tell me what’s going on.”
“Well, aside from your father losing his mind?”
“Obviously,” I said.
She took my hand in hers, and my stomach sank. “Chrissy is pregnant. Dad is having a baby with his mistress.”
What. The. Hell.
Just when I thought things couldn’t get worse.
“That’s why you filed for divorce.” I leaned back against the booth.
“Correct. I saw a text message two months ago, and he didn’t know I saw it. So I went to see an attorney in the city, a real shark, and I’ll be taking your father to the bank.”
“Do you mean you’ll be taking him to the cleaners?” I asked, because I assumed she was going to try to hit him where it would hurt him most.
“Yes, of course. Taking him to the cleaners for everything I can, so to speak. Because money is actually the one thing he cares most about, aside from your eventing success—so I plan to take as much of that money as possible.” She smiled like this was the best day of her life.
I felt like I was living in the twilight zone.
“So you’re going to have a messy divorce, and Dad’s going to have a baby.” I shook my head with disbelief.
“You know, your father is a very flawed man. He’s had a couple of affairs over the years, as you were unfortunately exposed to.
” She squeezed my hand after referencing one of the worst memories of my adolescence.
“I can turn a cheek on some things, but now he’s having a child with his secretary? I’ve hit my breaking point. I’m done.”
“So you’re leaving?”
“No, sweetheart. As soon as this divorce is final, I’m going to build a beautiful home of my own on the river.
I told him he can keep this home. I’m going to get a fresh start.
But in the meantime, I’m going to go stay with Aunt Becky and spend some time with her because I don’t want to be here when everyone finds out about Chrissy.
” She shrugged, but it was very matter-of-fact. There was no emotion left in her.
“I get it. So will Chrissy be moving into this house?”
“I’m sure that’s the plan. I told him I’m leaving, so that’s up to him.” She sighed and reached for my hand again. “I’m sorry I’m leaving you, though. I would love if you came with me. You know how big Aunt Becky’s house is. You can recover there if you want?”
“I need to figure things out. I want to find Wrax. I’ve got a lot on my mind.”
“I know, sweetheart. I’m sorry. I feel like I’m abandoning you,” she said, and Caroline came over and set out salads down in front of us. “And I feel like I’m abandoning Caroline.”
Caroline chuckled. “Once you get that house built, you let me know. I’ll be coming over there with you.”
“Damn straight, you will,” Mom said. “But for now, you’ll be my eyes and ears at this place.”
“I’m not staying here if Chrissy moves in,” I added.
“I don’t blame you. And I told Dad to stop holding your trust fund over your head. He’ll back off soon. I think he actually feels bad that you’re so upset about Wrax.”
“How could he be surprised by this?” I shook my head.
“Because you’re not like anyone else, sweet Wren. You’ve got the biggest heart, and he’s never known what to do with that,” Caroline said, surprising me that she’d say that about my father.
But clearly, the gloves were off, and she and my mom had always been close.
“You are the most special girl, and you always have been.” Mom’s voice broke on a sob. “I’m sorry, sweetheart. I wanted your life to be perfect, but I know that’s just not realistic. And him selling Wrax without speaking to you about it—it’s just another example of how selfish he is.”
“Well, he’s always been ridiculously competitive.
And I understand that he wants me to do what Granddad did all those years ago, but the sport has changed.
And you don’t just sell someone’s horse that they’ve been competing with for years and expect them to move on.
He’s clearly not in his right state of mind.
” I threw my hands in the air as I sniffed a few times.
“I know your father dreams of you going to the Olympics, and if that’s what you want, Wren, then I support it. But these days, I just don’t know if it’s your dream or his dream. I haven’t been able to tell for several years, if I’m being honest.”
I don’t know, either.
“Well, the fact that I’m horseless makes it nobody’s dream.” I sighed. “And now you’re getting divorced.”
“Listen, I know Dad has Coach Sharky looking for a new horse for you. He’s under Dad’s thumb at this point, so I’m not sure you can trust him.
But maybe he’ll tell you where Wrax is if you push him hard enough.
” She added, “And as far as the divorce goes, it’s a long time coming.
Unfortunately you got dragged into our mess years ago, and I know that it hurt you so much.
I tried to move forward. I think we both did.
But we’ve been living two different lives for a very long time now. ”
My parents always came to competitions on their own. They liked to say that they preferred to divide and conquer, but ever since I was in high school, they’d stopped traveling together.
I covered my face with both hands and exhaled sharply. “How did everything get so messy?”
“I don’t know. But your life doesn’t need to be messy. Well, aside from your horse being gone and your body still recovering and you not having a clue what you want to do with your life right now—” She paused, and we all three erupted in laughter.
“Was this supposed to make me feel better?” I asked as Caroline grabbed the pasta and the bread and set them down before joining us.
“I don’t know that anything is going to get better quickly, but life has a way of figuring itself out.
Trust your gut and do what makes you happy.
It took me long enough to figure it out, but I’m finally taking my own advice.
” My mother held her glass up, and Caroline and I each picked up our water glasses and clinked them to hers.
“Cheers to better days,” Caroline said.
“I’ll drink to that,” my mom and I said at the same time.
And I meant it.
Things couldn’t get much worse.
It was a warm one this morning at Axel’s ranch, with the sun shining bright and early. My mother had left for North Carolina a few days ago, and my father had texted me to let me know that he and Chrissy were going to be coming to the house at the end of the week.
He said he had big news to share with me, and I was grateful that my mother had already told me the news so I wouldn’t be caught off guard when I saw him.
He refused to tell me anything more about Wrax and just continued to send me photos of the horses he was considering purchasing.
For me.
As if I wouldn’t need to be involved in the process—but why would I? I wasn’t involved when he’d sent my horse away.
I had no desire to see him and was fairly certain he was going through some sort of midlife crisis.
The house felt eerily quiet these days, and I didn’t want to be there right now. I’d barely slept the last few nights.
My mind was reeling about Wrax and my future, and Coach Sharky continued to call daily, but I intentionally kept things very brief. I truly didn’t know who to trust right now.