Her Cowboy

Chapter 16

"Hey, you okay?" Percy asked me.

I bit my lip, nodding briefly without meeting his eyes. We were sitting at the kitchen counter, waiting anxiously. I couldn't tear my gaze away from the clock on the wall. My mom was scheduled to arrive at the ranch in eight minutes.

I didn't realize my hands were shaking as they were folded up on the counter until I felt a warm palm engulf them, stilling the nervous movement. My eyes flitted up to Percy's, who was watching me in concern.

"Are you okay?" he asked again, his voice more firm.

I took a deep breath. "I'm fine. There's nothing wrong, I'm just..." I trailed off, not exactly knowing where I was going.

To be honest, everything was wrong right now. After that big fight that I had with my mother, the last thing I wanted to do was see her in person. Every second now I was putting up barriers in my mind, building a strong wall so I wouldn't collapse under my mother's yells and arguments and the unbearable headaches that would follow once she got here. I knew she wouldn't like what I had said to her, but I wouldn't want to take it back anyways. She needed to hear it all.

But that didn't make my anxiety disappear.

"It'll be okay," I said. However, my voice sounded as if I was trying to believe that sentence myself.

Percy gave my hand a squeeze. "Well, if you need anything, I'm always here."

I managed a small smile. "Thanks, Percy," I said quietly. My hands moved as I rearranged one so I was holding Percy's hand in return. He gave me an encouraging grin, his green eyes shining warmth.

Just at that moment, the door opened and someone stepped in. I quickly retracted my hand from Percy's and whirled around.

Athena Chase stood there in all her stubbornness and pride. The first thing I saw was her gaze that had instantly gone to our recently intertwined hands. Then she turned her sharp eyes to me. Taking a deep breath, I steadily returned her stare.

Her eyes narrowed, and she didn't give a greeting to either me or Percy, who had now stood and was watching us both warily. Poseidon came down the stairs. He'd offered to go pick my mom up from the airport, but she had declined, saying she wanted to take a taxi. Despite his generosity, he looked rather relieved that he didn't have to. They hated each other for some reason, so the two of them in a car alone probably wouldn't end well.

"Hello, Athena," Poseidon said. She nodded tightly in return.

For a moment, everyone stood there in awkward silence.

"Do you want anything to drink?" Poseidon ventured.

She shook her head. "No. I would like to speak with my daughter. Alone."

I grit my teeth, not saying anything. When Poseidon sent me a questioning glance, I dipped my head in confirmation. Let's get this over with.

"Alright, then," he said. "You can go out to the stables or barn." He looked like he was forcing the words out. He knew enough about my relationship with my mother to know I was going to get an earful. And he didn't like it.

But his son hated it more. Percy's eyes were flitting between all of us. They finally rested on me, an anguished light in them. He didn't want me to go alone. If he could decide, he would go with me, but then he'd try to defend me and back me up and my mom would hate him and he would be dragged into this huge mess. I didn't want him to do that.

So I sent him a half-hearted reassuring smile, walking towards the door. As I passed my mom, I could practically feel her aura of cold anger.

I led the way out the door. The rain had come, as promised, but there was a slight break now. Drizzles splattered the wet concrete, making spheres in the puddles as I trudged to the stables. If I couldn't be with Percy or Poseidon, I at least wanted to be with the horses.