Page 7 of Ace of Spades (Hidden Creek Ranch #1)

HAILEY

“Happy Birthday, Hails!”

I grunt, pulling the comforter tighter over myself. The bed dips beside me, the sound of Gypsy’s tail hitting the bed as my mom gives her some morning kisses.

“Come on, sleepyhead,” she teases. “Rise and shine, today is your day—plus, I made you coffee.”

I open one eye at the mention of that, reaching one arm from my cocoon to accept the drink.

“Thank you, but it’s really nothing special, mom—we don’t have to make it a big deal.”

“But your father and I rarely get to see you, lately,” she pouts. “We finally just got you back, and now you’re off at rodeos every weekend.”

“I’m sorry, mom. Have you talked to Dad about coming to see me one weekend?”

As much as I hated to admit it, I knew better than to keep my hopes up at this point. Dad was a busy man, I knew that—I just sometimes wished that he would make an effort to come see me, even just once.

He used to come to some of my local junior rodeos when I was in high school, but he had stopped showing up as soon as I started traveling more for the college circuit and now for the pro circuit.

I tried not to take it too personally, and I really tried not to hold a grudge, but sometimes it was easier said than done.

“Yeah—we did, actually,” she responds, getting me to actually sit up in bed.

“Wait, really?”

“Of course, sweetie. It’s not that we don’t want to, it’s just that every time we plan on it, your dad has some of his work stuff come up. As it turns out, he’s looking at getting some WRS box seats to come cheer you on at the finals in December—how exciting is that!”

My heart drops just the slightest.

“But that’s almost a year away,” I say. “And besides, I don’t even know if I’ll qualify.

“Don’t be silly, of course you’re going to qualify. You’re already in the top twelve of the circuit right now for both events, I know it’s still early but that’s such a promising lead. If you keep it up I have no doubts that not only will you qualify, but you’ll actually place, too. ”

I offer her a soft smile in thanks. I suppose that’s better than nothing.

“Now,” she states. “We’re leaving you the estate tonight since Ava practically begged us to let her throw you a party.

You’re having lunch with your father and me in an hour before we leave for the ski lodge, so no more sleeping in for you,” she ruffles my hair like she used to do when I was little.

I playfully roll my eyes at her, taking a sip of the much-needed coffee. I had just gotten back from another long weekend, another long drive back from Texas knocking me out as soon as I was able to hit my bed yesterday.

I finished my coffee in bed before getting up to hit the shower and brush my teeth, straightening my dark hair and applying some mascara. I found a cute knit sweater dress for lunch, meeting my parents at the table right on time.

“Sweetheart,” my dad greets me, rising from his place at the table to offer me a kiss on the forehead. “Happy Birthday.”

“Thank you,” I tell him, wrapping my arms around his waist like when I was little. Sometimes it felt like nothing had changed—like I was still his little princess.

“Please, sit. I had Grace make a bunch of your favorites, it should all be ready any minute now. How about in the meantime, we do gifts?” he winks.

“Oh, gifts!” mom claps excitedly.

“Sure,” I agree, nervously tucking a strand of my long hair behind my ear.

I open gift after gift—a sterling silver charm necklace with my initials, a new set of cowboy boots, a custom headstall for each of my horses, and my favorite perfume that mom has bought me for my birthday every year since I turned sixteen.

Dad pulls out one last gift, sliding it my way. I pull at the ribbon wrapping the small blue box, lifting the lid to find a set of keys waiting for me inside.

I look up at my parents, awaiting an explanation.

“We got you a house!” my mom exclaims, no longer able to hold in her excitement.

“I’m sorry, you bought me a what ?” I ask in disbelief.

“That’s right, sweetheart. As much as your mother and I love having you living here with us, we figured it was about time you had a place to yourself,” Dad added, reveling in my shock.

“I know you said you don’t know if you want to stay here or not yet, but you can live there until you decide.

And if you decide you want to leave, you can keep it and rent it out or sell it, it’s your choice. Think of it as an investment.”

“I’m sorry, I don’t think I understood you correctly—you guys bought me a house? Like the structure people live in, with a roof and walls and everything?”

“It’s more than just a house, honey—it’s got two large turnouts for the horses and ten stalls, and it’s even got an indoor arena.

The house on the property is brand new, it’s absolutely stunning.

The best part is it’s right here on the outskirts of Cedar Creek, so you can come back and visit us anytime!

” my mom explains, wrapping me in a big hug.

“Oh,” I say, not finding any other words.

“What’s wrong? You don’t like it?” my dad asks.

“No—no, it’s not that at all. Thank you, thank you so much. It’s just that… it’s just too much, dad. ”

“Don’t be silly, Hails. You’re our only daughter, let us spoil you. Besides, it was meant to be both a birthday and graduation gift combined. You’re all grown up now, we just figured we would help you out with your next step in life,” my dad winks.

I offer them both a smile, hugging each of them in thanks.

I didn’t know what it said about me, but some small part of me wondered if there was a hook to this gift.

My dad always got me great gifts, sure. But this was beyond anything he’d ever done before, beyond anything I would have ever expected of him.

And the worst part was, I knew I should be over the moon ecstatic.

But a small part of me couldn’t help but think back to Weston, and all of the times he had called me spoiled.

Not just him, either—I had gotten tons of those comments when I was younger living here, but they had never affected me quite like when Weston had called me that.

Maybe growing up meant realizing that I wanted to earn things for myself. That instead of being able to brag to my friends about the things my dad got me, I wanted to be able to brag about what I earned for myself.

Our cook, Grace, brought out the food not long after—a buffet-style selection of foods that she’d come to know I loved. I let my parents talk while I ate in silence, still processing this new gift.

“Oh, and I told Hailey about us coming to watch her at the finals this year!” my mom says, catching my attention.

“That’s right. It’s not set in stone yet, but I have some extremely important investors that have been looking for tickets, and I got to brag all about how my talented daughter can get us box seats since not only will she be competing, but she’ll be winning the whole damn thing.

Isn’t that right, sweetheart?” my dad grins, bringing his coffee to his lips.

My heart sinks to my stomach, shattering into pieces as whatever hope my mother had given me this morning flutters away in the wind.

Of course he hadn’t planned on coming to see me. No, he was using me to win over investors. He didn’t care about supporting me, about cheering me on as I chased my dreams. He only thought about himself and his business.

It was about appearances for him, and I realized that now. The fact that I was just now realizing these things irritated me even more. How had I never noticed this? The way he bought my love rather than earning it by being the father I needed?

I think I had known for quite some time, but I had kept myself in denial.

Because admitting the truth to myself, that my dad bought me all of these things to keep me from complaining about the lack of effort he put into supporting me and loving me, it hurt.

It didn’t just hurt, it broke me a little bit.

“Hailey?” he asks, both he and Mom looking at me in question.

I felt a lone tear run down my cheek, quickly swiping at it with my sleeve before either of them could notice.

“Sorry—I’m fine. Just so happy, that’s all,” I lie, forcing a smile. “Thank you both so much for lunch and the gifts.”

I get up and hug them both, my eyes burning as I force myself not to show how much I’m breaking down inside.

“Are you sure you’re okay?” Mom asks .

“Yes, I promise. I’m just so tired from all of the driving this weekend, it makes me a little bit overly emotional.

But thank you both, I hope you guys have a great weekend at the lodge,” I tell them, turning to thank Grace for the meal before walking to the coat rack to throw on my boots and jacket.

I managed to hold the tears back until I reached the stables, letting them fall free once I was in the stall with Vegas.

She was my oldest, and I liked to picture her as the wisest of my three horses.

Sometimes, I spoke to her as if she could actually understand me.

And sometimes, I felt like she actually did.

I stayed there until I heard my dad’s truck pulling out of the estate, wiping my tears and heading back to the main house. Ava would be here in a few hours, and I had promised I’d let her do my hair and makeup tonight.

The sun was already starting to set as everyone started showing up, most of which had been Ava’s doing.

It’s not that I didn’t have any friends, it’s that I hadn’t stayed in touch with a lot of people once I went off to college, and most people around here had left our small town to move somewhere bigger.

“So, did you invite Chance and his friends?” I ask Ava, the two of us sitting on the arena railing.

“Obviously. And yes, they’re all coming—Weston included,” she winks, flipping her curly hair over one shoulder.