Chapter 5
Delaney
“Amaryllis Elizabeth Wilson. Get down here.” I yelled for my girl as I tripped over all her stuff from school in the front hallway. How had I missed all of it yesterday? I was obviously in a fuck induced fog from what happened with Cole.
“Yeeeessss, Mama.” She came down the stairs and looked at me all sweetly.
“Don’t you look at me that way. We’ve talked about cleaning up after ourselves. I almost fell on your shoes and bag.” I stood and looked at her with my arms folded across my chest.
“Sorrrrry.” She dragged herself around picking up all of her things.
“Do you want to go see Nana and Papa today?” She had her back to me, and she spun around so quickly showing her eyes full of light. She nodded at me fervently. “Take your things to your room and get dressed and you can spend the day there.”
Amaryllis had only seen my parents once since we’d been back. My dad bought her a gray horse last year to which she named, Pepper. He wasn’t happy about it. He tried to change her mind, but my stubborn girl wasn’t budging.
I started riding horses when I was six on my family’s ranch. It’s a great age to begin. Fiona was a chestnut-colored beauty that my dad bought me. She died last year, and it still chokes me up thinking about that trip home to put her down with dad.
Horses are such magical, special creatures. They are strong and the bond they have with their human is solid. I am thrilled for Amaryllis to have this same bond with her horse. When dad bought it for her last year, he told her she couldn’t ride until she was six. Well, six came and went because we didn’t live here. When Amaryllis arrived in Lynn Falls after me, I took her out to the ranch, and she ran straight to the horse barn. Mama also bought her a stuffie that looks just like Pepper. I knew taking her to the ranch would be good for her.
***
We pulled up to my parent’s ranch and I stared up at the sign, read, Sapphire Wind Ranch and smiled. They had bought the ranch in September and Sapphire is the birthstone for September. They used Wind because it’s all you feel when you’re riding a horse. It’s the most remarkable feeling and puts you so close to nature and the feeling of freedom.
As we pulled down the long drive, I heard Amaryllis say, “There they are, Mama!” She was so excited. David and Elizabeth Anderson were the most supportive parents, and I don’t think I could’ve made the move back to Lynn Falls without them.
When I divorced my husband, I went back to my maiden name. I didn’t care how much stress it was to change everything over because I wanted nothing to do with him. Not sharing the same last name as my daughter digs at me but I’m hopeful I’ll eventually change her name too.
Parking the car, I unbuckled myself and looked back at Amaryllis. “Are you ready? Be sure and say hi to your Nana and Papa before you run to see Pepper.” We laughed.
Amaryllis went running and I grabbed her bags out of the trunk. Walking up to my parents, I smiled and then hugged them. “Thanks for keeping her today. She is thrilled to finally be six and ready to learn to ride. Are you sure you don’t need my help?” I looked at my dad.
He waved me off. “Get out of here and go enjoy yourself. I’ve got it under control. We have plenty of hands here to help if we need it.”
He put his arm around me and kissed the side of my head. “Thanks, daddy. Bye mama.”
***
Between moving and starting the new job, I didn’t have a second to visit the friends I still had here. I was meeting my bestie, Amber Sinclair. She’s been by my side through all the bullshit and even went out to New York several times during the eight years I lived there. Amaryllis knows her as Auntie Amber.
I pulled into Sharon’s Diner where I was meeting her. Before I went in, I pulled out my phone to call Mama and check on Amaryllis.
“Hey Mama, how’s our girl?”
“Oh, she’s just fine. Your daddy can’t get her off Pepper.” That made me laugh.
“Well, tell her if she doesn’t listen to you, there will be no more stuffies. That will get her attention.” I smiled into the phone.
“Don’t worry, she knows better. Anyway, I secretly know your daddy likes spending all that time with her. Reminds him of when you were her age just starting out on Fiona.”
“I know. She’s really going to have the best memories living here. OK, I’m at Sharon’s and going to head in. Thanks again.”
“Of course, baby. Tell Amber we say hello and she needs to not be a stranger and come visit. You know, I think Evander has always had a crush on her.”
The thought made me laugh out loud. “Oh boy. Don’t you go trying to be a matchmaker, but I’ll tell her you said hello.”
“Oh fine. Love you, bye.”
I hit the end button and dropped my phone in my purse before getting out of the car.
Amber was already seated so I headed straight toward her and gave her the biggest hug. “Aaah, I’ve missed you so much.”
“Girl...I’m so happy you’re here.” She squeezed me back before letting go and us both sliding into the booth. “Tell me what’s been happening since you’ve been back. And shit, I’m sorry I couldn’t go out with you when you first came back. Was it fun?”
Rolling my eyes, I said, “Oh my god, don’t get me started.”
“Oh, I’m giddy. Tell me everything.” She was jumping around in her seat which made me laugh.
“Stop. Ok, so do you know who Cole Taylor is?” We paused for a second when the server came.
“Hi, I’m Amelia, and I’ll be your server today. Can I get you something to drink?” She was nice.
“We’ll both take water and coffee to start.” I looked at Amber and smiled, already knowing what to order for her.
“Sure thing. I’ll be back.” She walked away and I went back to asking my questions.
“Anyway, Cole Taylor.”
“Uh, yeah. Cole’s a professor at the University. He’s a great guy. Why?” She sat back in the booth.
“I met him that night we went out. And yes, he’s a nice guy.” Amelia came back with our drinks and now I was stirring my coffee as a distraction to not make eye contact with my friend who would be able to see through my shit.
“And by met... what do you mean?”
I raised my eyebrows and kept staring at my coffee. “Iiii mean, met...away from the bar...iiin a… um...hotel room, maybe.”
“Shut the fuck up! You slept with Cole Taylor? Bitch, I’m impressed.”
“That’s not all.” She sat back again and had the biggest grin on her face. “He took me and Amaryllis out to the carnival in Lowell last weekend. It was great but then I basically ghosted him.” I smiled remembering how I gave him a hard time about saying that word. “So, he came to my office and fucked me on my desk. Goodness, is it warm in here? We should order some food.”
“Not so fucking fast, you slut. And you didn’t get caught? This is so NOT you.”
I tossed my hands in the air. “I know right. Like what was I thinking? But Amber, his smile, his mouth, his...fingers... his...well, you know. His voice is like velvet, and I was just mush. That’s a technical term you know. They teach it in class now.” I rolled my eyes as I took a drink of my coffee.
“Holllyyyyy shit. You got it bad. So, what’s the problem?”
“We work together. The University is strict about nothing happening between colleagues. I’m not trying to lose my job.”
She waved her hand in the air. “Get the fuck out. Do you know how hard it is to date these days. I can’t get a guy to take me to coffee without offering to be my sugar daddy and you have Professor Cole Taylor basically risking it all to get close to you. Aaaand he’s met Amaryllis. Does she like him?”
I hated that my daughter liked him so much. She actually hasn’t stopped asking about him. “Yes, she does but that’s beside the point. It can’t happen.”
“Um ok. Well, let me know how that works out for you but babe, he’s a fucking catch. A genuinely good person and these days, that shit is hard to come by. Think about it.”
I hadn’t stopped thinking about it. Amber and I fell into an easy catch up. As hard as it was to stop talking about Cole, it was nice to hear about her life and what I’d missed. I didn’t tell her about Evander crushing on her, but I knew I would eventually, especially after hearing about the lack of a good dating pool.
I had to figure out what I was going to do about Cole. Figuring out fast was paramount because I had a feeling that he wasn’t going to stop. And if I was being honest with myself, I didn’t want him to.