Chapter 178

Tessa’s POV

I stared at my father with a deep frown, not sure what to think about what he just said. My mind was still wrapping around it.

Did this mean he wasn’t going to Mom’s grave?

That was the whole point of me being here.

I couldn’t help but be disappointed.

My father sighed and placed his hands on my shoulders, giving me his most sincere look.

“I’m sorry, Kiddo,” he breathed, shaking his head in defeat. “If I finish early then we can go. But I guess the flood is really bad.”

“Why can’t she call an actual plumber?” I asked, narrowing my eyes at him.

I hadn’t meant to sound mean, but since when did my father fix plumping? He already did everything else around this town. It just didn’t seem fair that Mrs. Davis was making him fix the plumbing in her store.

“She did,” he answered. “They are scheduled to come out in a couple of hours.”

I sighed.

I guess my father had to go and I wasn’t going with him to see my mother’s grave. My heart ached, but it was just another disappointment to add to the list.

“Okay…” I finally said, after a short pause.

“Hey, maybe Penny can go with you? It might do you girls some good to do a little bonding,” my after suggested.

I couldn’t help the scowl on my face when he mentioned Penny going with me. His face instantly fell upon seeing my face and he took a step back, probably afraid that I might strike him at any moment.

“I don’t know why you don’t like her,” my father said bitterly, folding his arms across his chest. “She’s nothing but kind to you.”

“She’s practically my age,” I muttered, shaking my head at him. “If you can’t see what she’s really after, then I can’t help you.”

He looked like he was about to say something more; he opened his mouth, but then he shut it immediately and sighed again, shaking his head as he turned away.

“I’m sorry…” he murmured as he walked toward the door.

I instantly let badly for my words.

“No, I’m sorry,” I said, shaking my head of all thoughts. “I think I’m just tired and a bit disappointed. I was looking forward to this. But if you can’t go, I understand.”

He turned to look at me over his shoulder and he gave me a faint smile.

“Thanks, Kiddo,” he said in return.

“Maybe I’ll go myself,” I said, shrugging. “I don’t have any stories to read her, and I don’t really remember much about her, but I could still talk to her. Maybe get some motherly advice.”

I stared down at my shoes, trying not to look and sound awkward, but I knew by the look my father was giving me that it wasn’t working.

He raised his brows and stared at me for a long while.

“Motherly advice?” He finally asked, sounding very confused.

I ran my fingers through my hair.

“Yeah,” was all I managed to say.

After another long pause, he finally turned away again.

“Okay, just be careful,” he said suspiciously. “You remember where it is?”

“Yes,” I answered.

“Don’t be out too late,” he said as he pulled open the door. “I love you, Tess.”

“I love you too,” I said in return as he shut the door behind him.

I sighed, feeling my shoulders slump in defeat. I felt sad that my father wasn’t coming with me, but it might be nice to have a little alone time. I hadn’t really been alone for that long since I got here. Besides when I was sleeping.

Ruby was preoccupied in the kitchen with Penny, so this gave me a good opportunity to sneak out and grab Ivy.

I had about an hour before sundown and I knew Ivy didn’t like being out when it was dark, so I couldn’t stay at the grave for long. Which was fine because I truly was exhausted and would like to get some sleep. But the whole [point of me being here was to see my mother and I wasn’t going to leave until I did.

Ivy was in her stable, chewing on the hay I had left out for her. I grabbed a saddle and my favorite riding helmet. I returned to Ivy and placed the saddle on her while running my fingers down her long nose.

“We are just going to go out for a little while,” I assured her gently. “It's okay…” I breathed.

Once the saddle was on her, I put on the helmet and strapped it under my chin before kicking my foot around her back and positioning myself in the saddle.

I gave her a small nudge and together we began to ride out of the stable.

As we walked, I noticed the air was getting a bit cold and the clouds were growing even darker. I don’t remember anything on the forecast about a storm, but it almost looked like a storm was coming. My father would have mentioned if there was anything in the forecast; at least I think he would.

Ivy really didn’t like storms either, so I hoped whatever it was that was coming would wait until we returned to my father’s home.

Thankfully, the graveyard wasn’t far from the farm. It was just down a few paths and across a small meadow. It was only a couple of miles before we reached the small-town cemetery.

It’s been a long time since I have been here, so it took a little while to find my mother. My heart was pounding heavily in my chest with each gravestone I came across.

I soon found her gray marble stone with the words “Elissa Campbell” engraved on it.

Ivy snorted as if she recognized the stone herself, and I smiled at her, patting her head gently as I slid off her back.

I allowed Ivy to nibble on some nearby grass while I spoke to my mother's grave. I sat there silently for a long while staring at the engraved letters with a heavy heart. This was a woman I hardly knew. I remember some things about her though, like her rosy scent and her milk chocolate eyes.

I wished more than anything that I could remember more about my mother. Since my father met Penny, he stopped talking about her.

It’s like she never existed. Today was the first time we’d seen my mother’s grave and talked about her in what felt like forever. But now it was just me.

Well, me and Ivy.

I glanced at my horse who was happily nibbling on the grass.

I closed my eyes, trying desperately to keep the tears away, but it was no use, they were escaping my eyes quickly.

I bit onto my bottom lip to keep myself from sobbing. All the emotions that I had felt over these last several weeks were starting to pour out of me. I couldn’t deny the fact that my heart was broken and it seemed to keep breaking even more with each passing moment.

“I wish I had you to talk to…” I whispered to my mother’s grave. “I’m sure you would know the right things to say. Mothers always have the right things to say…. or so I’ve heard. I guess I wouldn’t really know.”

A small gust of wind blew across my features, making my hair fall in front of my face. I tucked my hair behind my ear and allowed some more tears to fall freely on my features.

“I guess I’m just feeling a little lost,” I murmured. “I’m in love with a guy who doesn’t give a rat’s ass about me. I wonder if you’ve ever been through something like that. I wonder what kind of advice you’d give me…”

I fell silent as another sob escaped my lips.

I felt wetness on my cheek and when I went to wipe it away, another one appeared. For a second, I thought it was my tears. But the distant thunder told me otherwise.

“Oh, shit,” I murmured, standing to my feet quickly.

The rain began quickly and soon I was getting drenched in cold water. Ivy looked up from the grass she was munching on and from the sound of her whimpering, she wasn’t happy about the weather change.

I wasn’t happy either.

I guess that’s my cue to get out of here. I tried to cover the top of my head with my hands as I splashed through the mucky puddles to reach my horse, but just as I got to her, a lightning bolt struck in the sky, startling her to the core.

She screeched and nayed loudly, making me freeze as I watched her kick her front hooves in the air.

“Ivy!” I shouted through the thunder and rain. “It’s okay!” I tried to reassure her.

But she wasn’t listening. As another crash of thunder sounded our ear, soon, Ivy was taking off toward the path we came from, leaving me entirely.

My heart fell into my stomach.

She knew where our home was, she had gotten there on her own in the past and even went into the stable by herself before. But now I was stranded a couple of miles from my father’s home in the rain and I didn’t have my phone on me.

“Ivy!!” I yelled after her.

I was about to run after her, but I heard a twig snapping in half, making my entire body freeze and turn toward the nearby wooded area, wondering who or what was approaching.

I certainly wasn’t prepared for who I was about to see.