Forced to marry a man she doesn't know; Abbie has no choice but to move on the secluded ranch and into a ran down cabin. Surrounded by acres of woods, farmland, and vast pastures of cattle, she is sheltered from the outside world and human interacti...
Replaying the life I once had. I realize I have no idea where I am. The jolt of the pickup pulls me back to physical existence, as it slows down to a stop light just off the interstate. The morning sun is just starting to shine orange against the pines. With the light of morning I can see I had gotten in the wrong truck; this one is heading west, but only took me a few towns over. We pull into a gravel lot near the heart of town at the local "feed and seed".
When I hear the overhead bell chime from a distance, I know the truck is empty. Tying my hoodie around my waist and opening a granola bar out of the plastic bag, I start out on foot, to only God knows where.
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Jason Pectin was a man of average height, and at first glance you could tell he came from wealth. He always wore slacks, and kept his collared shirts neatly tucked. Although he had facial hair, he always kept it short and perfectly lined. With his thick eyebrows sharply groomed, and never out of place.
A week after the night Jason and his men came, I agreed to Mr. Pectin's deal to marry his son and move on his ranch to clear my father's debt. I knew my father didn't approve, but it was only way. I knew in my heart if Jason came again, he would kill my father.
Early in our marriage I realized Wyatt was nothing like his father, Jason. Although he didn't smile or speak to me much at the beginning, somehow, he was much sweeter and far more different in appearance. Wyatt didn't inherit his father's empty blue eyes, his were a warm golden brown but carried pain inside of them. He was much taller than Jason, a bit paler with an olive undertone, I assumed inherited from his mom, and due to his job, his body was more built.
Wyatt looked out for me and tried to keep me away from the main house when possible. The Pectin's had over 300 acres for their cattle, most of it was cleared fields for rotation and to harvest hay for the year. But he kept 50 of the acres wooded for easy evening hunts where he built a small hunting cabin for convenience. However, he no longer had a use for it since he started traveling out of state for hunts.
Jason was cruel and spiteful but loved Wyatt, why else would he get his son a wife? After weeks of nearly begging and negotiating, Jason finally agreed to let us move into the cabin if Wyatt worked longer shifts on the farm and I continued the cook super and maintain his house during the day.
We moved to the far end of his father's property in his small tucked away cabin, for the both of us. Wyatt couldn't stand his father; Jason had a quick temper, and mistreated Wyatt since his wife passed away from ovarian cancer eight years ago this past June. Wyatt claimed he hadn't always been like this, that eight years ago, they were happy, he remembered back when they would throw the baseball in the front yard and laugh while his mama seat on the porch's rocker watching each evening before starting on dinner. But for me, it's hard to picture Jason any differently.
