Ride
Lofty Ambitions
RILEY
My lie was untangled, and I felt like a radioactive dumbass.
“Look, we need someone we can trust with the place. If you’re still around and we need help, maybe we could offer a traineeship down the line,” he explained gently. “But not today.”
“I’m sorry for wasting your time,” I said shakily.
“I’m sorry too. Jason probably got your hopes up, but this is tough work.”
“I understand,” I said quietly as I got up and immediately bolted from the office.
It was bad enough that this man had seen through my lies so quickly.
Something about the way he offered me something “down the line” was even worse.
It was the kindness that killed me.
I guess I’d seen so little of it recently.
Still, his offer did not help. I had to get out of there. Find a new plan.
I just needed to go to any town with a population over 300. Find a waitressing gig somewhere.
Find somewhere to sleep.
Sleep seemed like such a distant dream right now.
In a way, the tiredness was helpful. It was numbing my emotions.
I walked through the corridors of the stable, trying to find a way out of the property.
I didn’t want to think about how cold and tired I was at that moment.
I could see through the windows that evening was coming in, as were dark storm clouds.
Then, looking straight ahead, I saw a ladder, leading up to some kind of loft.
In yet another moment of spontaneity, I climbed up it and found myself in a dark, dusty hayloft.
Relief rushed through me. I could crash here and get out before anyone was up to find me. If I could just have one night’s rest, I could figure this all out tomorrow.
It was pretty dark up in the loft, with only a crack letting in some late-afternoon light.
The space was filled with bales of hay, stacked against the eaves of the roof. I hunted around in vain for an outlet to charge my phone.
I gave up looking, and gave into exhaustion. I put on my hoodie since the temperature had dropped. I got comfy and snuggled up in a corner.
Suddenly, I heard voices downstairs.
“Hey, buddy, call it a day!” I recognized Jason’s drawl.
I froze, afraid any movement would lead to the old wood creaking and my discovery.
“But we didn’t get to raking the arena or folding the saddle blankets,” an unfamiliar voice responded. “Boss man won’t be happy.”
“Is my dad ever happy?” Jason joked.
For about another ten minutes, there was some shuffling around downstairs. Finally, the lights were turned off.
I was desperate to go to the bathroom, so I crept downstairs, feeling my way around the dark stable, trying to find a toilet.
No luck.
When I got to the sandy arena that the stable surrounded, I crept in and squatted.
I guess the horses do their business here, I thought before kicking sand over the wet patch.
It made me feel a teeny bit better about peeing on some stranger’s property.
As I crept back to the loft, I passed a room with an open door. The moonlight streaming in revealed piles of tossed blankets.
I stepped inside, thinking I could steal one to sleep with.
There was a heap of blankets on a trunk that I could only assume they went in.
If I was going to stay the night, I may as well pull my weight.
It wasn’t like I had anything better to do.
I made sure they were folded nicely before placing them into the trunk in order of color.
Then I found a rake in the room and thought I may as well do the arena.
It actually took a lot longer than expected because after raking it, I realized I was in the middle of the nicely smoothed-out arena, and if I walked out, then I would leave footprints.
I had to smooth over my footprints until I made it to the entrance of the arena.
My work done, I crawled back up to the attic where I rested my head on my backpack, wrapped myself in a saddle blanket, and fell straight into a dreamless sleep.
CASEY
I tried to keep my mouth shut that day, though I quietly called her about 300 times.
Thinking she might have blocked my number, I called any friends of hers that I knew who might have seen her.
No one had seen much of her recently.
It made me realize just how little I’d checked in on my sister. Dad painted her to be an out-of-control party girl, but could she have just been lonely at college?
My guilt compounded, but I was still too scared to tell our parents.
I believed Dad when he said he’d have her locked up.
Dad was ruthless that way. It’s how he’d raised himself up to be one of the richest men in America.
I guess that was the difference between the two of us.
I knew that I couldn’t escape our world, so I tried to make the best of it, but she’d swap all the money and connections for anonymity and freedom.
***
That night I barely slept, getting myself into a paranoid spiral about what had happened to Riley.
The next morning, when there was still no sign of her, I knew I had to do something.
I knocked on the door of Dad’s study, holding Riley’s note in my shaking hand.
“Come in.”
I stepped into the elegant office, which was filled with sculptural furniture.
The walls were dotted with awards and a priceless Picasso he had bought himself as a fiftieth birthday present.
“Is this about the shareholders’ meeting? Do we have a date yet?” he asked.
“Um, no, sorry.”
Dad looked annoyed. I walked toward his mahogany desk and handed him the note.
His eyes narrowed suspiciously as he took it out of my hand.
As he scanned the scrawled handwriting, I saw his face relax.
He handed it back with a shrug.
“She’s an adult. What can we do?”
“Really?” I said, shocked. “I mean, she could be in trouble.”
“If she is, it’s her own fault. I’m done trying to clean up her mess,” he said coolly.
I knew he could be hard on my sister, but the callousness of his reaction shocked me.
“What if something happens to her?”
“She’ll have to figure it out, and we have to hope it doesn’t get in the news. I assume she’s using a false name if she’s trying to avoid us, which will help matters.”
I was speechless. It was almost like he was glad she was gone.
“You know, this does sort out the problem of her messing up Bowry’s campaign,” he added casually.
Yep, he’s definitely not cut up about this one bit.
I knew Dad cared about Neil Bowery and his promises of a lifetime of power.
But I didn’t know the extent to which he’d go to sell his own family out for him.
“Can you draft a press release just in case anyone starts asking questions? We’ll say she’s gone volunteering somewhere with one of our charity projects. Six months in the Congo.”
“What if she never comes back?”
“Then we’ll say she fell in love with the place and settled down,” he replied.
And with those cold words, Dad turned back to his laptop. “Is there anything else? I have a lot to get through this morning.”
I walked straight out of his office, not looking back.
I didn’t want him to see the tears that had begun pouring down my cheeks.
JASON
It had been a weird morning. I woke up with a strange feeling of gloom.
Storms were coming. It would be a hard day working out in rough weather.
I was also a little bummed. Dad told me he hadn’t hired that girl Riley.
He also didn’t give her a ride back to town. He wanted to, but she’d already disappeared.
I felt so damn guilty.
It was a long walk back to Hook Springs, at least an hour. It had been getting dark too.
Dad said that it seemed like she was embellishing her experience.
“And no offense to the ladies, but we need someone who can haul, if you know what I mean.”
“You can’t say that these days, Dad.”
“I’m sorry. But you know, she did seem a little...suspicious.”
I guess he was right.
I wasn’t sure her car really “blew up,” although I had to respect someone for lying with that kind of dramatic flair.
But when I got there, I arrived at a stable where every job had been done, despite the fact that I knew Max went to bed and was most certainly not yet up to finish the jobs.
Weird.
I climbed up to the loft to grab a few bales of hay, still wondering what went on.
Maybe Max came out to do it after we said good night?
As I clambered in, I saw a figure asleep, between the bales, wrapped up in saddle blankets.
I walked toward them cautiously, wondering what to do.
I realized, from the head of thick, black hair, that it must be Riley.
She must have sensed my presence too.
Her eyes flicked open and locked on mine for a moment.
Then she kicked out, hitting me in the shin. I winced in pain.
While I was unsteady, she bolted, grabbing her backpack and running right past me before practically sliding down the ladder.
“Riley?” I shouted, chasing after her.
But she was fast.
Really fast.
By the time I got down, she was nowhere to be seen.
RILEY
I ran.
I didn’t think about why until I got safely onto the dirt road that led me away from the ranch.
I wasn’t afraid of Jason. I felt bad for kicking him.
I guess my reflexes are a bit nervy since my encounter with Neil.
Still, I was glad to get away. I couldn’t face the shame.
I was no cool free spirit like I’d pretended yesterday. I was a pathetic loser and a terrible liar.
The fun, supportive voice that had been in my head the day before had completely disappeared.
Just panic and embarrassment remained.
I hated this gut feeling I’d developed—one that meant I didn’t feel safe anywhere.
Not with men around anyway, even if they did seem gentle.
After all, Neil had seemed like a catch before he’d attacked me.
The thought made me tense up. I was out here all alone. Anything could happen.
Every time a car passed, I’d stiffen, on alert, hoping they would leave me be and I could walk safely back to town.
Just then, the dark clouds opened up.
Great.
This was the kind of rain that soaks you instantly.
That gets inside your bag and your bones.
Just what I need right now.
When you have nothing.
Not even a change of clothes.
I pulled my hoodie over my already-wet hair and kept on walking.
There’s no turning back now.
Continue to the next chapter of Ride