Cowboy Town (25 page)

I can’t explain the feelings I felt when my mum drove through the gates of our property. Seeing that big wooden sign declaring,HolderwoodStation,was surreal. I felt giddy. A big grin spread across my face as I remember something that has sprung to my mind every single time I’ve driven past that sign. When I was a child, my mum used to tell us it was “Hollywood Station”, not Holderwood. She used to beg our father to change the name. He refused, sensibly so, if you ask me. But that didn’t stop our mother sighing,
Hollywood Station
, every time she passed through the gates.

Ahh, it’s good to be home.

Chapter Three

The first few days after I arrived home were hectic. I was busting to take Sampson for a ride. For a horse lover like me, not riding for almost four years was torture. I also had to deal with a bitch called
jetlag
. It really takes it out of you.

I’d been home for three days before Kennedy came to visit. Three whole drama-free, bitch-free, blissful days.

“Kennedy couldn’t get off work, dear. Otherwise she would have been here sooner.” My mother tries to make excuses for her prodigy daughter.

Bullshit she would have been here
.
Thank god she has a job.

I use the word
job
loosely though – my sister is not a fan of hard work. Actually, she’s not a fan of any work. She’s employed by an overweight, old, greasy-haired man named Frank. Her job is to sit at the front counter of his car lot and look pretty. She wears skimpy, tight clothing to distract potential buyers so they end up buying a car they probably don’t really want. She answers the phone in a voice you would imagine a phone sex operator using, and the only reason she keeps her job is because she’s fucking Frank.
Yeah, she’s seriously fucking a disgusting man old enough to be her father.

Yuck!
Our parents don’t know that, obviously.

“Ava!” Kennedy squeals when she spots me in the kitchen.
Anyone would think she actually missed me.

She runs toward me and gives me a hug. “Have you put on weight? You look fatter.” She says the words quietly, so only I can hear.

“Fuck off, Kennedy,” I chirp back.

“So, what’s been happening since I’ve been gone?” Mum, Kennedy and I are sitting around the table, drinking coffee and eating leftover pastries that weren’t sold at the Coffee House today.

“Well, let’s see. Scott and Maggie Henley retired. They took off traveling around Australia. They’ve since returned and left again. Jeremy and Jackson have taken over the property. Jackson built himself a house on the other side of the property – he runs the cropping part of the Station now. Jeremy lives in the main house with Oscar and he takes care of the cattle.”

No surprise that the only news she has to tell me is about the Henleys.

“Who’s Oscar?”

“Oh! Ava, I just thought of a fantastic idea.” My mother claps and beams like she’s just struck gold.

“Again, Mum. Who’s Oscar?” I ask, a little impatiently.

I look to Kennedy and she has a smug, all-knowing grin on her perfect face. She hasn’t changed a bit since I’ve been away - in looks or personality. She’s still got the same long, shiny chocolate brown hair, the same perfectly proportioned body and the same flawless skin. And she’s still a mega bitch.

“Why, he’s Jeremy’s son, of course. I thought I told you. Maybe I just told Kennedy.” Her words fade off; drowned out by the sound of my heart breaking.