Free Bluegrass Seduction (The Bluegrass Billionaire Trilogy Book 1) by Alice Ward, Jessica Blake Page A

tell me how it’s done so I’ll know for the future.”
    Her face went white. For some reason, this stopped her tirade dead in its track. I wondered if she had already told someone. I left the kitchen and passed my father on the way up to my room.
    “Bit fancy for the morning, don’t you think, Auggie?” He was referring to my dress from the date last night. His eyes sparkled, and I could see he was championing me as long as it was out of earshot from Mother.
    “Hello, Dad. Sleeping in?” I countered and he grinned. We both knew he enjoyed an hour or two of solitude after Mother rose each morning. I felt for him and the hell he must endure. “Dad? I’d like to talk about something with you. I’m going to hop into the shower and change and then grab a nap. Can we go for a ride, maybe about three?”
    “Of course.” He leaned to kiss me on the cheek. “See you out there.” He seemed pleasantly surprised and I knew that I was the only thing that stood between him and that hell.
    A few hours later, we were riding the trails. I was up on Carlos and Dad was riding Trigger, an older horse retired from events.
    “Did you have a good time last night, princess?” he asked in a genial voice.
    “He’s wonderful, Dad. He doesn’t care what people think and flaunts everything that has imprisoned me my whole life. I want to be more like him,” I gushed.
    “Be careful, princess. He comes from good family roots, but his father isn’t someone to cross. He’s a powerful man, a bit unprincipled from time to time but human enough. Take it slow and be sure you meet his family so you know what you’re getting into.”
    I loved the way Dad treated me. He didn’t tell me what to do, he just supplied me with hints of directions and let me discover the big picture on my own. That was called respect.
    I told Dad about the situation with Mrs. Jessup and the talk Worth and I had about it. “He thinks I could start a sort of foundation to benefit the residents there to add improvements to make their life better, you know? Maybe I could even get Mrs. Jessup a dialysis machine so she wouldn’t have to leave every other day for the clinic.”
    “Auggie, is this my daughter I’m speaking to?” his voice lilted with humor.
    “What do you mean?”
    “This is the first time I’ve ever heard you worry about anything more than the next event or whether you had just the right dress in your wardrobe.”
    “Do you really think I’m that shallow, Dad?” I was disappointed.
    “I believe you’re proving me wrong as we speak,” he allowed and nodded in approval. “Anything I can do to help?”
    I reined Carlos to a stop and slid off, tying him to a tree. Dad followed suit. I went to sit beneath a tree, my hands playing with the leaves that had already fallen like a colorful skirt around its base. “I was hoping you’d do just that, Dad,” He knelt and began breaking fallen twigs, the sound punctuating the stillness that lay about us. I could tell he enjoyed the quiet. It was such a deviation from the shrill, anxious atmosphere in the house. “I will be looking to get donations, especially from the people you and Mother know. After all, they know Mrs. Jessup and would be more open to helping her out.”
    “Have you talked to your Mother about this?”
    “No, not yet. She would only discourage me.”
    He tossed a broken twig aside. “Good. For now, why don’t you keep this just between us?”
    “Is there a reason, Dad?”
    “No… no… would just be nice to have something only the two of us share.” I knew he really meant it would be nice not to need Mother’s approval for every footstep or dollar.
    “Deal. Thanks, Dad.” We sat there for some time, watching the afternoon slide toward the evening. It was growing cooler and getting dark earlier and the smells of autumn were beginning to waft in about sunset. This saddened me for it meant a break when I couldn’t ride Carlos.
    Dad understood this, and me. “Our winter