Free Goodbye Girl (Hidden Lane Ranch) by Scarlett Metal Page B

home.

 
    She smiled and looked out the
window. “I came here with Clint’s dad after we got married. At first I wasn’t
so sure ranch life would agree with me; I was a city girl too. I quickly
learned to love the peacefulness and serenity of it all.”

 
    She took a drink of her own coffee. “It’s
hard work though. Those boys and the ranch hands work long days in the summer
and the winters here are tough, I won’t lie. If you had come here in January, I
may have told you to run far far away.” She winked at me and we both laughed. Just
like the rest of the family, I was quickly learning to love Mary; I’d missed
having a mother figure in my life.

 
    My toast popped up and she put it on
the plate. She brought it to me along with some butter and what looked like
homemade jam. “Thank you,” I said.

 
    She sat at the table across from me.
“Rachel, can I ask you something?”

 
    “Sure,” I replied, my heart suddenly
beating hard in my chest. Was she going to ask me about Clint and last night? I
began to butter my toast, trying to mask my nervousness.

 
    “How did you get that bruise on your
cheek?” she asked softly.

 
    I stopped buttering my bread and put
my knife down. While I was relieved she didn’t ask me about last night, I
wasn’t so sure I wanted to talk about the bruise on my face either. I was
speechless, unsure of where to start.

 
    “Was it a boyfriend?”

 
    I could see the concern in her eyes
and while I was normally a pretty closed up person, there was something about
this woman that made me comfortable enough to open up to her. “Yes, it was my old boyfriend.” I made sure to emphasize
the ‘old’ part. I didn’t want anyone to think I was still attached, especially
to that asshole.

 
    She reached across the table and
took my hand. “Did it happen often?” she asked, her voice barely a whisper.

 
    “No, this was the first and last
time,” I said. I might as well tell her the whole story. I took a deep breath
and started at the beginning. “My mom died six years ago when I was nineteen.” My
eyes filled with tears, remembering that horrible day.

 
    She squeezed my hand. “Oh sweetie,
I’m so sorry.”

 
    I gave her a half smile. “It was
just her and I, so I was all alone. I’d been dating someone at the time and he
sort of swooped in and took care of me. He became my family. Things were good
for a long time. Then he lost his job and started hanging out with a different
crowd. I had a feeling he was selling drugs and after awhile, I was sure he was
also doing them. He became controlling and possessive. After my mom died, I
swore I would never be with a man like that.”

 
    I stood up and went over to the
window. “My mom was killed by her abusive boyfriend.”

 
    She let out a gasp. “Oh my God
Rachel, how horrible for you.”

 
    I nodded, the tears rolling down my
face now. “I made a promise to myself I would never ever be with a man like
that. When he started to get like that, I made plans to leave him. The night I
told him, he hit me. I waited until later that night and packed up what I could
and left.”

 
    She got up from the table and came
over to me. I turned around and she held my arms in her hands. “I’m proud of
you.” She reached up and wiped the tears from my cheeks. “Your mother would be
proud of you.”

 
    A sob tore from my throat and she
pulled me to her for a hug. She smoothed my hair. “You’re safe here.”

 
    “Mom! What did you do to Rachel?”
Eliza came into the kitchen, done with her phone call.

 
    I pulled away from her and wiped my
eyes. “She didn’t do anything,” I laughed nervously.

 
    “Never you mind, Eliza,” Mary
dismissed her daughter. She handed me a tissue. “We were just talking.

 
    Eliza narrowed her eyes suspiciously
at us. “Riiight.” She came closer to me. “Are you ok, Rachel?”

 
    “I am, especially now,” I assured
her. I really was ok for the