Page 72 of Rough Ride with the Grumpy Cowboy
“I know. I’m so sorry, but you can’t tell me that you are the same person you were when you arrived. Would I be right to say that our family has had a positive effect on you?” she prods.
“Yes, absolutely. You guys have healed parts of me that you never broke. I will be eternally grateful, especially to you for never giving up on me and pushing me to come here,” I answer with a smile.
“We all needed this, but especially you and Zane, so you are welcome,” she teases, and we burst out laughing.
When we calm down, she turns to me with a serious look. “Let’s promise one thing?”
“What?”
“To never ever keep any more secrets from each other. Look at how much time we lost not talking about something that could have been solved five years ago,” she suggests.
I don’t even have to think about it. “You’re right. I promise—no more secrets. We talk about everything.”
She leans in for a hug that lasts a while. If only I had opened up to Ella back then about what my mother had told me, it would have saved everyone a lot of pain and wasted time. But there’s no use crying over spilled milk. I’m just glad that everything has been fixed now.
When we pull apart, Ella requests to listen to more songs, and I’m happy to oblige. She ends up dozing off after a couple of songs, so I cover her up and leave her in the bedroom while I shift to the balcony.
I’m deep into a song when my phone buzzes with a message. I check it to find Lou has sent me a video. I open it and I nearly drop my phone when I realize what I’m watching. She should have sent this with a warning!
The video is only a minute long, but I feel like it runs forever. When it’s over, my hands are shaking and there are tears rolling down my cheeks. Lou calls me, and I’m all thumbs as I try to pick up.
“Estevan?!” I choke out, his name tasting like acid on my lips.
“Yes,” she confirms.
“But why? Why would he do this to me? I was nothing but kind to him!”
“I’m so sorry, darling. I couldn’t guess it either, but now looking at it, it does make sense.”
“How did you get the video?” I ask, angrily swiping away my tears.
I hear Lou pause, which lets me know it’s not good. “Don’t be mad.”
“Tell me,” I insist.
She sighs before explaining herself. “I know you asked me for a house with no cameras, but I had one installed in the living room, just one. I had a feeling your family wouldn’t take well to you cutting them off and would try something. But it was peaceful for so long that I forgot about it. I only recalled last week when I went there to check on all the repairs after the police cleared it from being a crime scene. I handed it over to the police, and they recovered the footage and sent it to me.”
The reason I’d asked for a house with no cameras is because the mansion I lived in with them was full of them, and I always felt like I was being watched.
“I’m not mad, Lou. You did it to protect me. And I’m glad you did—now we have evidence against him,” I assure her. “Is my mother involved?”
“We’re not sure yet, but it’s likely. At the moment, there’s a warrant out for your brother’s arrest.”
“Stepbrother—and even that’s being kind. I don’t want to be related to that monster,” I cry, trying to erase the image of Estevan trashing my penthouse from my mind.
It doesn’t work, and even worse, I start feeling like throwing up. “I’ve got to go, Lou. I’ll call you later,” I rush out as I get up and run across my room to the bathroom.
“Okay, dear. Be strong—I’ll check in with you l—“
I don’t let her finish as I hang up, just in time to throw up in the toilet bowl. It goes on for a while, until all the beautiful breakfast Ella had prepared for me is gone.
The door bursts open just as I’m flushing the toilet and getting up to wash my face.
“Ava, I heard you throwing up in here. What’s wrong?” Ella demands, looking at me worriedly.
Instead of replying with words, I hand her my phone and proceed to wash my face and brush my teeth.
She’s livid by the time she’s done watching the video. “That bastard! I’m going to kill him with my bare hands—that’s if Zane doesn’t get to him first. Of course it had to be him,” she growls.
