Chapter 21

That had been an afternoon to remember. Thank God Mrs. Rudolph had been home, or Austin might have had to fight Simone’s dad. But in the end, it would’ve been better to fight the old man than face what Mrs. Rudolph had in mind: she called Austin’s mom to come get him.

Marie didn’t speak to him until they got into the car, where he learned his fate.

“Your grandmother has given you too much freedom. That will all stop because I’m moving back home to keep an eye on you. I talked to your father and explained what you and Simone were up to. He’ll be here on Thursday for your birthday, and we’ll have a family discussion about what to do about you.”

Hearing he would have to wait for his dad to arrive to receive his punishment made Austin’s stomach clench. He almost laughed out loud that even at nearly fifteen years old, the ‘wait until your dad gets home’ shtick still worked.

But he recognized he deserved it. Austin had opened up an ugly, squirming can of worms that had spilled out and bitten him in the butt. He’d let his hormonal dick do his thinking for him after he’d just decided to slow down on stuff like what had happened. Was this karma kicking his ass?

“Just ground me or something; Dad doesn’t need to be involved.”

He saw his mom’s left eye quiver—never a good sign.

“Oh, you’re grounded, all right. But this time, your father and I will talk before he hands you condoms and lets you loose again,” Marie said.

That confirmed his mom wasn’t happy with how his dad handled stuff back in Texas. What did it matter? They’d divorced and moved on. It wasn’t as if he would ever get his family back together. Still, that didn’t mean he wanted his father to smack him around, either. He’d experienced that once before.

“If you don’t trust Dad, why get him involved?” Austin asked.

His mom pulled the car over and turned on him.

“Austin,” Marie hissed. “You are almost fifteen, too young to be caught in a compromising position in a sixteen-year-old girl’s bedroom by her parents. Middleburg’s a small town, a town where your grandparents built a name and reputation that doesn’t need to be sullied by your behavior.”

“Yes, ma’am. I hadn’t looked at it that way,” Austin admitted.

“I expect you to keep your head down and out of the public eye until we ship you off to school. Speaking of which, if I’m forced to move back in with my mother, you’re going to receive homeschooling to prepare you for the rigors of Horace Green Academy. And when you get there, I expect excellence. I expect you not to embarrass me or your family again. Is that clear?”

“Yes, ma’am.”

To think he’d been disappointed that his mom had shipped him off to his grandmother’s. He feared he’d had the good life and messed everything up.

In the morning, Austin and Max entered the kitchen, where he saw his mother and grandmother in a heated, whispered discussion. Emma gave him a quick glance, signaling that he should make a hasty exit. Max was dancing at the back door, so he helped the pup by letting him out to do his business.

As luck would have it, the mean tomcat was sunning itself in front of the barn. Austin casually walked toward it, and when he got within arm’s length, his hand shot out and grabbed it by the scruff of the neck. He held it away from his body as the big cat tried to disembowel him.

Max pranced around his foe and made happy yips that Austin was dealing with the bane of his existence. Max wasn’t as pleased when Austin stuffed the cat into Max’s barn crate, which Austin used when bringing in horses to prevent the pup from getting kicked or worse. A bouncy puppy wasn’t something a normal horse would tolerate. Luckily, Red had an even temperament, so the dog and his horse got along.

When the crate door shut, the cat hissed and lunged at Austin. Max decided to wait for him at the back door of the house.

All the horses had heard the commotion and had their heads hanging out of their stalls, so Austin opened a fresh bag of carrots and cut them up as treats. After he’d said good morning, he returned to the house, ready to face the music. When Austin got to the back door, Max was MIA. He opened it and found the pup getting a piece of bacon from his grandmother.

Austin sat down, and Emma appeared with glasses of orange juice and milk. Austin took a sip of milk and waited for whatever was to come. His grandmother and mom both ignored him as they read the paper. Emma came back with two eggs over easy, hash browns, and two slices of wheat toast with apple butter. Austin wasn’t about to say anything, so he dove into his food.

“I thought I would attend your class today,” Marie said.

“We don’t have enough horses,” Austin said.

“Simone’s mom called and told me her daughter’s not coming, so I’ll ride hers.”

Of course, he wanted to ask why Simone was skipping out but didn’t take the bait. His grandmother smirked and resumed reading her paper.

“When we get back, your grandmother wants the hedges trimmed. I told her you’d be happy to do it,” Marie said.

Inside, Austin scowled. His grandmother had miles of hedges, and trimming them would take him weeks.

“I’d love to help out.”

This time, his grandmother barked out a laugh and folded up her paper. The two women exchanged an unreadable look, and Grandma Montgomery got up.

“As much fun as this is, I’ll go to the club. You two play nice.”

It looked like it would be a long day.

His mom went upstairs to change. As soon as she was gone, Emma appeared with a cup of coffee and a doughnut and sat down.

“So?” Emma asked.

Austin shook his head and said, “It’s probably best I don’t say anything.”

“Simone, huh?”

Austin just gave her a hooded look.

“Her dad must have flipped out. He would never allow her to date a White guy.”

Austin cocked his head to the side and didn’t say a word.

“Is she still a virgin, or did you get caught in the middle of it?” Emma asked.

Austin threw his last piece of toast at Emma, who laughed. He got up from the table so he could get the horses ready. People would be there soon to ride to the club.

Word of what happened must have spread because everyone looked at him curiously, but his mom stopped the questions with a glare. He was glad to see she intimidated them as much as she did him.

“Less hand, more leg!” Austin called out. “Learn to ride from your rear and legs rather than controlling your horse with the reins.”

Austin was riding Red in the center of the ring while his charges circled him.

“Marie! Eyes up! Your horse is counting on you not to run her into another horse or the fence.”

His mom jerked her head up just in time to prevent her horse from rubbing against the fence.

“Let’s take a break and show our horses some love. They aren’t machines, and you want your horse to like you. Believe me, if they don’t, the silly things can make your life miserable. Isn’t that right, Rob?”

Rob’s horse had abruptly stopped while he was busy talking to his buddies, which caused him to take a tumble. To his credit, Rob dusted himself and got back on his horse.