Ten Year Grudge

"Well this is interesting," a voice brought me out of a deep, dreamless slumber. My eyes opened to gaze at a wall of tanned, muscular chest. What the hell? Then I remembered: Talehga, Leah's stallion, me riding out and Ace bringing me back then the incident in my bed that had ended with me falling asleep.
Ace wrapped his arms tighter around me, bringing me closer to his chest. I shoved him away, realizing there was someone else in the room. Looking towards the doorway I realized there were several someones in the room.
"Mommy it looks like when you and Daddy sleep together," Steive said.
"It does doesn't it?" Leah said with a satisfied smile.
Ace propped himself up on his elbows and ran a hand through his tousled hair. "Wipe that expression off your face," he mumbled.
I wondered if he was talking to me or Leah.
"This is just very interesting," Leah repeated. "I thought you two hated each other."
"Who said that changed?" I demanded.
"I'm just making assumptions-"
"Well don't." I said, summoning as much dignity as I could muster and throwing off the covers, knowing I was in nothing but my underwear. I shimmied back into my jeans that Ace had thrown on the floor and stormed past the family gathering in my bedroom doorway.
"Nik wait, we just wanted to see if you were okay," Leah said.
"Well you've seen that I'm fine. You can leave now."
Just as the words came out of my mouth, the doorbell rang. Now what?
I padded to the door in my bare feet, Max and Delia barking madly at my heels. I peeked through the window and just kept from groaning aloud. And I'd thought my day couldn't get any worse.
I briefly considered not letting in my stepmother, but she'd already seen me. With a resigned sigh, I opened the door.
"Not even a hello how are you. Such terrible manners," Christina said as she brushed past me into my foyer.
"I'm not in the mood for company," I mumbled as I followed her in.
"I can see that. What are you wearing? You look like you slept in it."
I gritted my teeth and was about to retort when Ace's sleep-roughened voice broke in. "Which is pretty reasonable considering she did." The man didn't even had the consideration to put a shirt on?
Cristina's eyes locked on her son, then they blazed back to me. "I knew it! You did convince my son to live in sin with you!"
Normally, I could talk my way around Christina, but I was in no mood to deal with hypocrites. "And who the hell are you to talk about living in sin?" I hissed. "Not to mention homewrecking-"
"Excuse me? And who do you think you are to be luring Ace away from that nice girl he's been seeing-"
This wasn't happening. Not again. But why not? My stupidity, I had begun to let Ace in, I didn't know why I'd expected anything different.
Ace wrapped one strong arm firmly around my waist. "Look Mama, Nik's had a rough day. She's not in the mood for visitors."
"A rough day," she scoffed. "She works with filthy animals all day."
"She had to put a horse down."
"What is so important about that? They are just animals-"
She shrieked as I lunged for her. Ace's arm was there again, restraining me. "Lemmego damn it!" I shrieked.
"Leah!" Ace called. Leah came into the room. "Can you please see my mother out?" he said tersely with a glare for his mother. He picked me up for the second time that day and carried me back to my room. He sat me on the bed again, but I was not succumbing.
I stood and went to my closet, pulling out a suitcase and throwing clothes into it.
"What are you doing?" Ace asked softly.
"What the hell does it look like I'm doing? I leaving."
"You can't just leave, you have horses here-"
"Tribute's coming with me."
"Niki you're being irrational," he put a hand on my shoulder.
"Don't touch me!" I shrieked, wheeling around to face him.
"I know you're upset about what my mother said-"
"I'm surprised. I'm not sure why-every guy I've ever known has been a low life bastard, I don't know why I expected you to be any different. But upset? No."
"Bullshit Nik, let me explain."
"There's nothing to explain Ace. I'm just considering it a lucky escape and forgetting anything ever happened."
"Damn it Nik-"
"I'll probably be gone a month or so. In that time you'll be able to finish the apartment above the barn. You'll have to help Vic with herd upkeep. And I want that damn stallion found and brought in. Throw him in Tribute's stall. I'll see you in a month."
"Niki-!" But I was already striding through the house, grabbing truck keys and putting my phone to my ear. I knew there was only one place where I could go hide and lick my wounds.
As I reached the truck, the person on the other end picked up. "Tess you need some help for a month or so right?"