Chapter 17 Addison
Addison
“Addison, you must come with me to Paris in the spring. We can visit all our favorite designers’ showrooms,” Daphne said excitedly after dinner, clasping my hands in hers while we stood next to the G-Wagon they had rented.
Dean had warned me that his mother could be cold and condescending, but she was honestly incredibly warm toward me.
It likely was due to the fact that we shared a love for designer handbags, and I rubbed shoulders with some well-known East Coast socialites while competing with my horse, but hey, I’d take what I could get.
I smiled back at her. “Wow, really? I would love to.”
“Yes, darling. We can take our private plane and make a little weekend of it. I’ll get your number from Dean, and I’ll be in touch.
” She kissed me once on each cheek and then pulled me into a big hug.
Daphne was an impressive woman. Her style was chic but classic and very, very expensive.
She was dripping in Chanel. She and Dean shared the same whiskey-colored eyes, but she had a long blonde bob.
She was beautiful. His father, Victor, had dark hair like Dean but with piercing blue eyes.
He was a tall man, but a little shorter than both Dean and Archer.
I immediately connected with the man over horses, and the conversation flowed easily.
I had been around my fair share of ridiculously wealthy families, having been with Noah for so long as well as being a part of the horse world in general, so I was prepared for anything.
Dean and I said goodbye to his parents before they climbed into their rental car to head back to their plane that was waiting for them in Austin.
Dean wrapped his arms around my shoulders, pulling me back against my chest and placing a kiss to the top of my head.
“You were incredible. My parents loved you, and Daphne Adler doesn’t love anyone. ”
I smiled and turned my head to look at him over my shoulder. “What can I say? Parents love me.” I smirked. Dean smacked my ass as I led us toward my car.
We got back to Dean’s house, both of us exhausted, so we slipped underneath the covers for an early night. With Coal at the end of the bed, Dean pulled me up against him. “Do you need me to help you move onto the new farm tomorrow?” he asked while running his fingers slowly up and down my arm.
“I don’t think so. I’ve got my brothers and my sister. I think my parents will come by sometime in the afternoon too. You’ve already helped so much.”
“I’ll still come by after my last patient tomorrow, probably around four or five. My schedule isn’t too bad.” He leaned down and kissed my shoulder. We talked a little more about the big moving day tomorrow before we both drifted off to sleep, completely wrapped around each other.
It was officially moving day, and I was beyond excited. With Dean’s help, I had already begun moving some things over to what was now officially Mountain Laurel Farm, but today the horses got to see their new home.
Walker closed the back of the horse trailer and locked the latch. “All right, Cash and Dahlia are ready to go. Are you?”
I nodded as Weston walked out of the barn with more bales of hay, tossing them into the bed of Walker’s truck. “I know that you don’t get your hay shipment in until the end of the week, so I grabbed a couple more bales.”
I smiled. “Thanks, West. I’m ready. Let’s get these horses to their new place. Ava said she would meet us over there.”
The three of us climbed into the truck and headed to my new farm.
It was a short drive, and as we pulled up, Ava came walking out of the barn with my new barn manager, Levi.
I made the introductions between my brothers and Levi before heading to the back of the trailer to lower the ramp to off-load the horses.
Levi jumped right in, taking Cash off the trailer and leading him toward the pasture to explore.
I grabbed Dahlia and followed Levi. My new barn manager was in his early fifties with extensive experience.
He was a widower but had two grown children with their own families, both of whom lived about two hours away.
Weston and Walker unloaded everything that I packed into the trailer as well as the extra hay, while Ava, Levi, and I posted up against the fence watching Cash and Dahlia check out their new field.
Levi looked over at me. “They seem to be happy out here. When are the rest of your new clients bringing over their horses?”
“Next week they’ll start trickling in. The two lesson horses I bought will be here at the end of next week. Everything is about to get busy!” I couldn’t wipe the smile off my face. It was all really happening.
Levi nodded. “Sounds good. I’ll be sure to get all the stalls prepped before then and organize the feed room. Y'all good here? I was going to go finish unpacking the apartment.”
Levi moved in just a couple of days ago, and he was already impressing me with how he just anticipated my needs and the horses’ needs without me even having to ask.
I hoped that once my business got off the ground, I could hire him an assistant because a full barn of fifteen horses would be a lot for just one guy.
The poor guy would need some days off, and until then I would be the one to cover for him.
“Yeah, we’re good. Let me know if you need any help with the apartment.” Levi smiled and nodded, knocking his knuckles against the fence twice before heading back toward the barn.
Ava scooted closer to me and bumped her shoulder against mine. “Proud of you, big sis. This place is incredible, and Levi is great. I love seeing you realize your dream.”
I bumped my shoulder back against hers. “Thanks, little sis.” We continued to watch Cash and Dahlia explore the field when the sound of tires crunching on gravel caused us both to turn around at the same time.
It was only eleven a.m., and there he was.
All tall, dark, and handsome as he climbed out of his truck in a pair of dark denim, his usual cowboy boots, and a long-sleeved dark green Henley that his biceps strained against. The man made everything look good.
His gaze never left mine as he strode toward Ava and me with a bottle of champagne in his hand.
Once he was in front of me, he immediately snaked his hand around the back of my head and pulled my mouth to his. I just melted into him.
Ava cleared her throat. “Uh, hey, guys. Still here.”
Ignoring my sister, I laid my hand on Dean’s chest and looked up at him. “What are you doing here? I thought you weren’t coming by until later this evening?”
A sexy grin spread across his handsome face. “I changed my plans. I had Grant and Lottie handle the rest of my appointments for today. I wanted to be here.” He tucked a strand of hair behind my ear. “Plus, we need to celebrate, so I brought champagne.”
Ava took the bottle from him. “My kind of guy! I’ll go grab some cups. I think I saw some in the tack room.” She turned and headed toward the barn.
Dean looked out at the pasture where Cash and Dahlia were grazing side by side. “They look happy,” he said, nodding toward the horses.
“Not as happy as you make me, Adler.” I pushed to my tiptoes and placed a chaste kiss on his lips, grabbing his hand as I led him toward the barn.
Ava found some Solo cups in the tack room, and we all gathered around in the aisle by the stalls to open the champagne bottle. Just then, both my parents strolled into the barn.
My mom looked around at the group. “What’s going on here? A party?” She smiled.
My dad noticed the champagne bottle in my hand and chuckled. “I think we got here just in time, Laurel.” Ava handed them each a cup.
“Mountain Laurel Farm is officially open for business!” I popped the top off the champagne bottle, and everyone cheered. We passed the bottle around, filling everyone’s cups, when Dean cleared his throat to speak.
He wrapped his arm around my shoulders. “I just want to make a toast to my girl.” He looked down at me with such adoration in his eyes that I could feel a lump forming in my throat.
“Addison, you put in the work and made your dream come true. You continue to amaze me and inspire me. Cheers to you, baby.” Everyone shouted out their agreement, and we all clinked Solo cups.
I took a moment to look around me and take it all in.
If you had told me a year ago that this was where I would be, finally realizing my dreams, I never would have believed it.
I never thought I would get here. I was so incredibly happy that it scared me.
Being happy, this happy, was the scariest place to be… because I had a lot more to lose.
The first couple of weeks of Mountain Laurel Farm being open were pure chaos, but I loved every second of it.
The hours were long, and the work was at times grueling, since it was only Levi and me.
I was physically and mentally exhausted by the end of each day, but I went to sleep with a sense of pride and accomplishment that I had never experienced before.
Running your own business wasn’t for the faint of heart or the faint of mind, and at times when I was truly run down from the day, I questioned whether it was all worth it, if I could keep up this pace.
However, I knew I just had to push those negative thoughts aside and keep grinding.
My business would grow, and I would eventually reach a point where I could afford to hire more employees to ease the workload.
There were days I didn’t see Dean at all, or was barely even able to speak to him.
Those were probably the hardest days, but I continually reminded myself that if he was the right guy for me, we would get through this challenging part of my business’s beginning. Dean, of all people, should understand.