Free Annabella's Oblivion (Hard World Tour #1) by V. F. Mason

understand. It’s better than drugs.” She said nothing. “For what’s it worth, I’m sorry about what happened to Nick.” Her eyes looked guarded for a moment, and she shifted them to one of the statues I had around the room.
    “ Thanks.” It was a low whisper, and I decided not to push it anymore. She cleared her throat. “So, what’s next?”
    “ You’ll have sessions with a psychologist and time to yourself. The ranch is big. We have horses. You can wander around and do whatever you want here.” That information made her eyes light up a little; yeah, I knew my girl liked horses. Had dreamed of having one back in school, but obviously I couldn’t say it out loud. “Basically, you’re here to heal. You’ll need nutrition to get healthy, and no smoking, alcohol, or any dangerous stuff.”
    “ Great. So I’ll have all those people babysitting me.”
    “ No, just me.” That made her frown and shift uncomfortably. “I’m your sobriety coach.”
    She blinked several times and looked adorable.
    Adorable? What a fuck, man?
    “ Sobriety coach? What does that mean?”
    “ It means I’ll be there with you every step of the way, making sure you’re on the right track, and always helping you out.” She didn’t like this information---not one bit.
    “ Why you?” she asked. I knew this question was coming. She wasn’t the only one who was curious about it. The whole team and her gang were against it. They didn’t see how I, of all people, could help her. I didn’t have the certification, but I had studied the subject enough to know what I was doing. She needed someone who knew her well, and that person would be me. I couldn’t give her that answer though, so I gave her the one everyone else.
    “ As I said, I’m friends with Jeremy and I have experience with this. Let’s just say it’s a favor I’m paying him back for.” She liked that even less.
    “ So I’m a charity case?”
    “ Hardly. Don’t worry, I take good money for what I do.” That wasn’t the truth, but close.
    I took the money from Jer because he wouldn’t have it any other way, but I wouldn’t use it for myself. I had enough. I gave it all to a foundation for education. There were always kids out there who could shine brighter if they were given help.
    I used to be one of those kids.
    “ Good for you, I guess.” She quickly stood up. “I’ll go do. . . something.” With those words, she left the room, and I exhaled a breath I hadn’t known I’d been holding in.
    It was hard to love a woman who didn’t love you, but I was a master at it.
    She thought she was a charity case and didn’t like it.
    Little did she know that I was the one who was glad she was here with me—not the circumstances, but for the moments I would be there for her.
     
    Annabella
    I decided to take a long walk and get familiar with the place.
    The rest of the house was as beautiful as the living room. I reckoned there were around twelve bedrooms upstairs and four downstairs. He must have a really big family or a lot of friends; otherwise, what was the point of having such a big house? Strange thing was, there weren’t any more pictures of him or anyone else, except those on the wall I’d seen earlier. It was hard to guess or peek into his life, so to speak.
    The weather was cold, but for some reason, I needed to go outside. It was the whole talk about horses; I couldn’t resist those. I’d had a few riding lessons back in school, but had to cure myself from my love because I couldn’t continue after the free programs ran out.
    Extra activities were expensive, so I gave up on the idea.
    I wandered around and noticed a massive stable. I entered it and was greeted with the smell of sweat, hens, and horses. There were around ten or twelve horses of different colors, and they all had signs on their fence with their name and age.
    The majority of them were young, but there was one that really stood out for me.
    It was a brown stallion named