by Ava Winters
“Ian McAdams.”
She saw surprise sweep across her father’s face, as well as some confusion. Amanda was to have been the one to fall in love with Ian, not her. “Oh, honey. I’m so sorry. It’s going to be hard to see Amanda marry him if you love him, isn’t it?”
Luisa gave a harsh laugh. “Amanda isn’t going to marry Ian.” She looked at him. “I have a story to tell you.”
She quickly gave him the short version of what happened. Her father listened quietly while she admitted to her part in Amanda’s scheme of switching places.
She told him how she spent time with Ian and that they fell in love with each other. But when Mr. McAdams found out what they had done, he refused to believe that they loved each other and had said some harsh things. Luisa didn’t repeat those words because they still hurt.
She knew she shouldn’t have been surprised at Mr. McAdams’ reaction when he had found out that Luisa wasn’t really Amanda, but she still felt hurt.
But what hurt the most was when Ian didn’t stand up to his father and admit his feelings for her like he had said that he would.
When Luisa was finally done with her story, she sat back and waited for her father’s response. She was sure that he felt disappointed in her, and was anxious about what he would say.
He had always given her wise advice, and she hoped that he would be able to say something that would help her understand what had happened with Ian. It took her father a few minutes to begin to talk and Luisa was content to wait.
“You know, I have always liked Amanda. I know that you have been friends with her for a long time. But there was something that always bothered me.”
“Really?” Luisa asked with surprise. Her father had never told her that he had felt concerned about something.
“Yes. She always had some scheme, plan, or idea that she wanted to do, and she always tried to pull you into them. I know that usually you spent a lot of time trying to keep her out of trouble. But I’ve always been afraid that eventually you were going to get hurt. And that is what just happened. Because of Amanda’s idea that you switch identities, you were put in a position that you normally wouldn’t have been in.”
Luisa spoke up, automatically sticking up for her friend. “I understand what you’re saying, but this isn’t all Amanda’s fault. I could have refused to switch identities.”
“Yes, you could have, but I know Amanda about as well as you do. She can be very persuasive when she wants something to go her way.”
Luisa stopped trying to justify what Amanda had done. She understood where her father was coming from. Amanda was a good friend to her, but she had spent a lot of time trying to keep her out of trouble.
She suddenly realized that she had been doing what Ian had been having a hard time with. She never stood up for herself with Amanda. She had allowed Amanda to decide whatever they did, and she was content to just follow along.
“Why do you feel like you need to do whatever Amanda wants you to do?” her father asked curiously.
Luisa thought about the question for a long while. Then she realized why. Amanda had been her first friend. They had moved to Albertson while her parents were still alive. Then her mother had died so suddenly.
Amanda had been the first person her age to reach out to her. They had become instant friends. Because of her friendship with Amanda, many good things had happened. She had received many opportunities that she otherwise wouldn’t have had if she hadn’t had Amanda’s friendship.
“Tell me about Ian,” her father invited her, breaking into her thoughts.
Luisa didn’t realize that her entire face brightened for the first time as she told her father about getting to know Ian over the last few weeks.
She talked about his mother’s garden, and the many walks that they had taken together. She glossed over how Mr. McAdams had basically ignored her until she began to talk to him about his favorite books, and she discovered that they had something in common.
As she talked, her father continued to make breakfast and they enjoyed their first meal together in weeks. Even though she felt sad about Ian’s reaction to his father’s question about his love for her, she also enjoyed talking about him. She wasn’t sure what was going to happen with him, probably nothing.
She wouldn’t be surprised to never hear from him again. It was very obvious that Mr. McAdams didn’t approve of his son have a relationship with Luisa, and she was sure that Ian was going to do what his father wanted.
She had made a lot of wonderful and tender memories over the last few weeks, recollections that she would be able to cherish the rest of her life.
When breakfast was over, she told her father that she would do the dishes. She gave him a kiss as he left for the day. As she began to clear the table, she thought of the advice her father had given about Amanda.
Luisa loved her dearly, but knew that she needed to make some changes. She could only hope that she was strong enough to do so.
Chapter 24
“Miss Luisa has arrived.”
Amanda turned away from her bedroom window and focused her attention on the maid who was delivering a message. She had woken up early that morning and spent the next few hours talking with her father.
She had been honest and upfront with him, telling him exactly what she had done and had expected Luisa to go along with. She’d explained the reason she had wanted to switch places with Luisa, but she also made sure that he knew she was taking responsibility for her actions.
She’d spoken very little about Stefan. She didn’t think it really mattered that she had fallen in love since nothing was going to happen because of it. Stefan was very angry at her, and rightly so.
She would try to look at her time with him as a learning experience and move on. The problem was, she had to do everything she could to not break down in tears.
She knew she was going to miss Stefan desperately and she knew, deep down, it was going to take a very long time for her to forget about him, if she ever did.
She was already aware that her father had sent Luisa a message to come to the big house when she was ready to do so. Her father wanted to talk to both of them, although Amanda didn’t know what he was planning on saying to Luisa. Her father had been upset with her actions, and rightly so, but he had also been very concerned for Luisa.
“Tell Father that I’ll be in the parlor in a few minutes,” Amanda said.
The maid bobbed a curtsy and disappeared. Amanda had been writing in her journal before she began to stare out of the window and she quickly finished what she was writing.
She closed the journal and put it away in her desk and then went to the parlor. Luisa was already seated. She was looking at one of the many books that were kept in the parlor for visitors to enjoy. She set it aside when Amanda walked in and they hugged each other.
“Are you doing alright?” Amanda asked her friend sincerely.
Luisa nodded. “I told Papa about what happened. He wasn’t … happy with me, but I think he understood.”
“I also told Father about what happened last night,” Amanda admitted. “Although I didn’t tell him everything that happened with Stefan.”
Luisa looked at her with admonishment. “Amanda, you need to tell him. One thing that I have learned from all of this is that we need to be honest with our families, about everything. We need to stop hiding things.”
“I know.” Amanda nodded, realizing that her friend was right. “I’ll tell him. I just can’t talk about him right now.”
“Talk about who?”
Amanda jumped at her father’s voice as he came into the parlor. He glanced at her and then walked over to Luisa. He lifted her to her feet and gave her a fatherly hug.
“Sit down,” James invited Luisa before looking at Amanda. “Talk about who?” he asked again.
Amanda exchanged looks with Luisa. “A man that I met at the Thunder Valley Ranch. I can tell you about him later.”
Her father looked at her for a lon
g moment and she breathed a sigh of relief when he finally nodded and sat down across from them.
“There are some things that we need to talk about,” he announced.
Amanda again exchanged a look with Luisa, and then they gave James their attention, waiting for him to talk.
“First of all, I have to admit that, while I am disappointed with you both, I can understand, at least a little, why you chose to switch places.” He looked at Amanda and she saw sadness in his eyes, and regret. “I put you in a hard situation by insisting that you go and visit the McAdams. I regret that I made you promise to give a relationship with Ian a chance. I am deeply sorry about that. I should have never put you in such a position. I should have at least gone with you to the McAdams’ ranch. I shouldn’t have sent you on your own.”
“Oh, Father,” Amanda began but her father raised a hand to silence her.
“You have both admitted your part in this, and so have I. Now, from this moment on, we will not talk about whose fault this is or isn’t. It happened and we need to move on. We have bigger things to discuss.” He picked up an envelope that Amanda had just noticed that he had in his lap. “I received this letter a few hours ago from Patrick McAdams.”
“So quickly?” Amanda asked in amazement.
“He sent one of his men to deliver it,” James said with a nod. “I’m sorry to have put you both in the position that you were in at his home. He is a harsh man and I’m afraid I tried to ignore that side to him as I have dealt with our businesses. ”
“Can I read it?” Amanda questioned.
James shook his head. “No.” He gave her an unreadable look, and Amanda somehow knew that whatever was in the letter wasn’t pleasant and that he was trying to protect her. “But I will tell you what he said. He was very harsh with Luisa, calling her a lower class citizen because she was sent to their ranch as your companion. If I had known that he would have treated you in that way…” James looked at Luisa with regret. “You have a wonderful father, but I also think of you as my second daughter. You’ve been a good friend to Amanda, almost like a sister to her. You might not be of my blood, but I feel like I’ve practically raised you, alongside Amanda. I am as upset at Mr. McAdams’ words towards you as I would be if they had been directed towards Amanda.”
Luisa began to tear up and she smiled at him. “Thank you, Mr. Wright. You are very kind.”
“Of course, he has retracted his offer that you marry his son, Amanda. He no longer wants to do business with me, which doesn’t bother me a bit.”
Amanda nodded her understanding. She was glad to hear that her father wasn’t a bit upset that his plans to combine his ranch with Mr. McAdams’ wasn’t going to happen.
“Now, I want both of you to give me your word that nothing like this will ever happen again. If either of you is put in a situation that you can’t get out of, I would hope that you would come to me for help instead of trying to get out of it yourself.” He looked at them with a firm expression. “That is what fathers do. And I’m sure your father would agree with me, Luisa.”
“Yes, he would,” Luisa agreed.
“From the letter Patrick wrote, I got the idea that you grew quite close to his son, Luisa. Can you tell me what happened?”
Amanda listened while Luisa told her father a short version of the time she had spent with Ian. She spoke of the garden that his mother had created and the time she enjoyed with Ian.
She even mentioned that she had thought Mr. McAdams was beginning to soften towards her. They had a common interest in books and had spent a few evenings discussing their favorite authors. She admitted that she knew Mr.
McAdams would be upset when the truth came out, but she hadn’t expected him to be so harsh with her or Ian. She expressed her disappointment that Ian hadn’t admitted to his father that he had feelings for her, even though they had talked about it just before the conversation with Amanda when she confessed her role in the identity charade.
“I guess I should have expected that he wouldn’t speak up,” Luisa confessed. “Mr. McAdams has a definite idea of not mixing with different social classes. Besides, even if he had spoken up, it wouldn’t have changed things. His father was very angry.”
“No, it might not have made a difference. But at least you would know if he really did love you,” Amanda said.
“I do know that he loves me, Amanda,” Luisa said fiercely. “Mr. McAdams is very intimidating. You know how he treated us. I’m afraid he has treated Ian that way, maybe worse, for his entire life.”
“Luisa is right, Amanda,” James interjected. “I know James well. He likes to use intimidation and force to get what he wants. He doesn’t have many good friends in the Thoroughbred world. The men who are willing to work with him and interact with him do so either because they feel they don’t have a choice or they want something from him.”
“But Ian still could have at least stood up for Luisa,” Amanda said firmly.
“Like Stefan should have with you?” Luisa shot back.
The moment she said the words, Luisa looked at her with regret. It was obvious that she had forgotten that Amanda hadn’t told her father about Stefan yet.
“What is this about?” James asked.
Amanda gave a sigh and began to tell her father a short version of her time with Stefan. She even admitted that he had taught her that she needed to change and not be so self-centered.
She didn’t have a problem that he worked as a horse trainer. He was actually very well educated in the training of racehorses and very smart. But he couldn’t handle the idea that she came from a family of means while he had been abandoned in an orphanage.
“I am deeply saddened that you both were let down by the men you love,” James finally said as he leaned back in his chair. “But it does look like you both learned something from all of this. Maybe things will work out differently than you think, in the end.”
“What do you mean, Father?” Amanda asked.
He shrugged. “I guess I mean that time does heal all wounds. You are home now. Take some time that you need to get used to being home, but don’t be afraid to move on.”
Even though Amanda knew that her father meant well, she wondered if she would ever be able to fully move on.
Chapter 25
Two weeks after Luisa and Amanda were sent back to Albertson, Ian was still waiting for the pain in his heart to subside. He was finding that he missed Luisa desperately, even more than he had expected.
He went through his days as usual. He spent most of his waking hours with the horses. He met regularly with his father for more orders and demands on his time.
He only talked to his father when he absolutely had to which, he could now admit, wasn’t much of a change. His father had never really allowed him to talk or voice his opinion about anything.
Dinnertime was back to normal now that Luisa wasn’t eating with them. Ian had enjoyed the conversations between Luisa and his father about their favorite authors and books.
She had come across as very intelligent and his father had seemed pleased that she was so knowledgeable about the books he enjoyed. Ian remembered the last dinner the three of them had had together. Luisa and his father had discussed their favorite Shakespeare plays and had eventually agreed that Hamlet was the best.
Even though Ian hadn’t said a word to Stefan, he could tell that his friend was also suffering. He suspected that his suffering was about more than Stefan’s anger with Amanda for her charade.
If he had to guess, Stefan was feeling about Amanda exactly how he was feeling about Luisa. As each day passed, Ian began to feel angry with himself. Why was he letting his father still dictate what he did and how he acted? He was twenty-four years old.