Falling For A Cowboy (NOW ON GALATEA)

Prologue ( EDITED )

I stood at my patio window, eyeing the beautiful mountains of Mount McKinley with a mug of hot chocolate pressed against my lips. Then I diverted my gaze from the snow-covered hills to the white stuff falling in front of me and sighed. Seeing how the snow was falling immensely and piling heavily onto my deck made me realize how much I hated where I was living and how badly I wanted and needed a change of scenery.

I turned towards Spencer and groaned. He was still in his suit, his feet resting on the coffee table, his hands folded together while lying along his chest, and his head tilted back against the couch while snoring—loudly. I rolled my eyes and sighed. 'Can my life be any more boring?'

Two years ago, I went through a rough patch after breaking up with a guy I had met in nursing school. When we met, I thought he was a dream. He was sexy, intelligent, and funny. And he always knew how to cheer me up. But I was always jealous of him since I felt he dressed better than me. My father hated him and would always say there was something wrong or odd about him. So, once he found out we broke up, he thought it would be a good idea for me to meet his business partner's son. Claiming he was a good guy, had his shit together, and was very much like them—rich.

Having deep pockets never impressed me. I grew up in a wealthy family and had always hated it because of how the kids in school would treat me. They always gave me a hard time for being well off, and those who didn't took advantage of me, thinking it would be cool to hang out with me because I was rich. So I didn't have many friends. The only person I ever considered a true friend—a best friend and sister — was Selena. And I miss her terribly.

Selena was killed in a car accident two years ago after colliding with a moose. I lost my best friend and only friend that day. But not only did I lose her, but I also lost my will to live and attempted suicide, which landed me in the hospital for quite some time.

At the time, I felt everything was going sour for me. First, my boyfriend left me for another man. Second, Selena was killed. And thirdly, I hated how my family treated me and felt the need to start rebelling—doing things I usually wouldn't do—experimenting with drugs, going to wild parties, and destroying properties because I thought that's what the 'cool people' did. I wanted to fit in with the in-crowd and show everyone I was not this rich, snobby girl everyone thought I was.

However, those bad choices only landed me in more trouble and caused heartache for my family.

So, teaching me a lesson, my father decided he wouldn't bail me out or pay my fines anymore—deciding that it would be best to put me through treatment. I was in the treatment center for no more than two days when I finally realized what I was doing was wrong and that the new friends I thought were my friends were nothing more than my enemies, causing me to have a breakdown. They weren't bringing me to a perfect life; they were bringing me down to their level—the wrong path, the path of destruction.

When I finally got out of treatment, my father suggested I meet Spencer. At first, I didn't want to meet the guy, thinking he would look like Rowan Atkinson. So I quarreled with my father, reminding him I was twenty-two years old and could find my own boyfriend. Finally, after days of protesting, my father introduced me to him anyway, and I was shocked. He was no Rowan Atkinson. Instead, he was more like Liam Hemsworth.

After moving in with Spencer and getting to know him, my feelings for him dwindled. He was nothing more than a preppy, snobby, rich person. Just like all the others I knew. Spencer gave me no challenges or arguments. All he did was provide me with everything I wanted. He was boring, no fun to be around, and someone I considered only to be a roommate.

I turned back toward the window, looked at the mountains, and thought about what to do while finishing my hot chocolate. Then, when it came to me how I needed to talk with my father and tell him how I felt, that I was depressed and needed a change in my life, I set my empty mug on the counter and headed to my room.