Teen romance + Murder Mystery + Royals + Horses = one heck of a roller coaster!
Lauren's life is normal. The daily routine of wake up, get dressed, go to school, return home, do homework, repeat.
That all changes when a man comes to the house saying...
"Move!!" A rough hand pulls me out of the way just in time before the horse rears up and kicks its legs right where I'd just been standing seconds ago.
"That horse is dangerous, he needs trained better before she goes anywhere near it" I realized the boy who'd pulled me away was speaking to Mr. Robinson.
"He will be trained" Mr. Robinson said to the boy. "And what are you doing near it exactly?"
"He was my dad's favorite horse, of course I'd check on him"The boy says.
Then I realized what he'd said, dad. This was my dads other kid.
Mr. Robinson doesn't look amused by the answer.
Finally I decided to get a good look at my brother.
He was a good few inches taller than me, but still shorter than Mr. Robinson who seemed to tower over everyone. His hair was dirty blond, barely reaching to his ears. He wore a simple black fit long sleeve shirt and tan riding pants.
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We hear a neigh and I look to see a brown horse tied to a tree a few feet away. My best guess is that it was his.
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"You're lucky I was nearby, or that could have gotten ugly fast." The boy says.
"Yes."mr. Robinson nods. He looks around, "Where's your sister? I didn't see her yesterday."
Sister.
"My guess is as good as yours, probably in the gym is my guess." The boy says.
Mr. Robinson looks down to his watch, "We better be going, we have a schedule today." He turns to the trainer, "Have him run off some more energy, I want him ready to start training tomorrow. School starts very soon."
—————
"What do you think?" My aunt Rebeka asks as we sit in my room.
"What do you mean?"I ask.
"Do you want to go through with this?"She asks.
"What else do you want me to do?"
She shrugs, "I just want to make it clear that you don't have to feel pressured into doing anything. It's your choice."
I nod.
"Did you know he had other kids?"I ask.
My aunt purses her lips, "I knew he remarried..."
There's a knock at the door, and Lilian comes in, "Suppers almost ready."
Walking down the stairs I follow Lilian to the dining room, seeing who's inside my breath cuts short.
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There, sitting in a seat is him. Next to him sits a woman who I believe wasn't past her 30's. Her hair was a deep brown, and could almost count as black in the light. She was sitting talking quietly with him sipping wine.
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Lilian cleared her throat and they turned to us, and while Aren stayed normal the woman turned to a huge smile.
She stood up and walked over to me and, without warning, hugged me.
"You must be Lauren,"She says. "I'm Shyane, your step-mother. I believe you've already met my sone Aren."
Stepmother.
I nod.
"I'm Rebekah, Laurens aunt." My aunt steps forward with her hand out, but I knew her enough that even with that smile that she wasn't happy to see this woman.
"Dinner is ready"A waitress walks into the room.
"Oh, I am starving", Shyane says. "How about we get seated?"
"What about Vivi?"Aren asks.
"Here"I turn to see a girl walk in. Her hair was dyed purple and cut short to right above her shoulders.
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Finally, Mr. Robinson walked in from behind and whispered so that only I could hear, "I didn't know they would be here."
