Hidden in the Shadows

The silence that fell in the room was so thick it could have been cut with a knife, even Gabriel who’d been on the phone looked sick. She was getting a weird vibe from them and wasn’t sure why, she should have known this would be a mistake. She asked cautiously “Should I leave, I’m stirring up things that probably should have been left alone.” It was Justin who cleared his throat and said “No, you’re good. They are just a little bit shocked at, the moment.” Michael rushed to say “Gabriel, I think you have another phone call to make.” Angel looked at Justin she was curious how one made it out of the neighborhood and asked calmly “How’d you get out?” Justin stared at the girl before him. For someone her age she had old eyes, as if she’d seen the world from so many different angles, she wasn’t sure which was supposed to be right. He replied, “I joined the military, and that helped me tremendously.” Angel nodded absently; Justin could see she was concerned about being here in th

Angel was self-conscious of her attire in the restaurant people were looking at her oddly. When they were led to the private dining room that really drew attention. Justin heard the whispers of ‘Who is she?’ “Wonder who she’s dating?” There was, of course the snide comments he overheard on her attire as well.He was glad Angel didn’t appear to have let any of it bother her. Angel wasn’t stupid or deaf she’d heard the comments, but she’d grown a thick skin over the years, what people thought or said didn’t bother her.  When they entered the dining room she came to an abrupt halt. It didn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out why. She was staring openly at Isabelle McDaniel’s known better as Belle McDaniel’s by family and friends. He knew what Angel was seeing; she was finally seeing the connection to her father’s family. This woman minus the hair and eyes was Angel at the age of nineteen

It was all happening so fast, Angel said simply “This is a lot to take in for sure, but I need to go shower and get dressed if we’re to keep up with all your plans.” That said she went to the bathroom taking her clothes with her, she stood before the mirror trying to see if there were any physical changes from the day before. Because today she felt completely different. When she walked from the bedroom, she said “Are we ready to go?” It was her Grandma Marigold who said “Dear, do you have a jacket?” Angel sighed and told her honestly “I’m from California there isn’t much need for one there.” Lillian nodded and said, “Well that settles that then, we’ll be taking you shopping for some clothing before we go to the ranch.” Angel hadn’t been prepared for that, but she bit her lip and let the women lead her out.   She noted that two of Justin’s men were trailing them and was curious. When she asked her grandma, Belle said “Dear, you’re a very wealthy girl now, we want

Cody stared down the man before him, seriously thinking about knocking him on his tail in the dust. Cody said coldly “I believe you’ve said more than enough, and you know the way out.” He didn’t take the hint and fired off saying “Is this what you do?  Wait until good people are down on their luck and swoop in take over their life’s dream.” Cody couldn’t help himself; he laughed and said “Is that what your neighbors told you, that they lost the place because of hard times?   Your neighbors just sold this place for over 5 million dollars; it wasn’t the bank who received that money.” He could see he’d taken the wind out of the man’s sails and he said coolly “The next time you even remotely think of speaking to Angel in the manner you did earlier. I will rip your spleen out if her father doesn’t beat me to it.” Cody was so angry and preoccupied he missed Justin walking up with four men, until Justin asked, “Do we have a problem here?” The man who hadn’t learne

When they arrived all the hands were on deck to unload the horses. Cody made sure the most expensive horses got the bigger more prominent stalls, because as he said they were used to more luxurious surrounds. He said winning horses were an extension of most people’s families.  The vet they had chosen was on hand and he had startling news for them, it seemed that one of the mares was in foal.  Cody said he’d put in calls to try and find out who they had bred her with. Depending on the stud used she could have a foal that wasn’t worth anything. According to Darren the vet she was close to delivering, he said it would only be a few days if that before she did, he noted that she was carrying very, large as well. So, they would keep an eye on the horse. Once Cody got a hold of the old owner, they told him they weren’t sure who the foal belonged too. They had mated her with Gamblers Run one of the horse’s she’d bought tonight, he had won a huge race this year and his stu