The XOXO New Adult Collection: 16 Full Length New Adult Stories (391 page)

She stood there for a moment unsure of what to expect as a petite dark-haired girl approached her.

“Hi,” she said, extending her hand. Dallas rearranged her bags on her shoulder in order to shake it. Making friends was something she was never particularly good at but this girl approached her and she didn't want to seem rude.

“I'm Mila, are you new here?”

“Yeah I'm Dallas. I just got here.”

Mila nodded her head in response, “I thought it was you. I'm supposed to seek you out to take you to admission, to get your room assignment. You're going to be my new roommate.”

“Oh,” Dallas said as she followed the girl towards the left and up a grand staircase. The wood was so ornate that Dallas was afraid to touch it for fear of smudging the beautiful grain. Dallas wasn't sure she'd liked the way the girl said
new
perhaps she'd been through a lot of roommates previous to herself.

“Have you had a lot of roommates?”

Mila shook her head, “Just one since I’ve been here. But she just got offered a job, you'll find it's pretty transient around here.”

That made Dallas hopeful, perhaps she would find a job one day dancing professionally. “Do a lot of kids get jobs?”

Mila stopped at the top of the stairs and thought for a moment, “Well they took six this year for a tour, and we had one to go to Broadway, and one is in Paris I think. So yeah a decent amount.” She shrugged and continued walking.

Dallas followed her to the end of the hall passing by large wooden doors on either side.

“These are your classrooms,” Mila said gesturing to the doors with her hands. “You're a junior right?”

“Yeah, I had just started my junior year before I got the letter.”

“Did your parents do the jumping up-and-down thing when you got the letter, too?”

When Dallas didn't answer right away Milo followed up with, “All the scholarships kids live in the same rooms. It's supposed to be so we don't feel like we’re missing out when all the rich kids go do stuff. I think it's segregation, but whatever –, so what did your parents think?”

Dallas thought Mila was genuinely interested in Dallas’s life but it was difficult for her to disclose anything personal. “I mean it's just me and my mom, and her boyfriend Mike.” She couldn't help but roll her eyes as she said his name. “I kind of think they were glad to be rid of me to be honest,” she said no louder than a whisper.

Mila looked up at her and Dallas noticed her extremely dark brown eyes, “I'm sure that's not true,” she said quietly.

After a moment she continued on the tour and they walked through the last door at the end of the hallway. It had a big sign that said Admissions on the front, “We'll go in here and get your key and then I'll show you to our room. You’re probably hungry right? Dinner’s in like forty-five minutes, you can sit with me and my friends.”

She was so kind it made Dallas’s chest hurt, no one was like this back home.

“Sure, that sounds great.”

Dallas walked through the large wooden door to find a portly woman sitting on a desk labeled secretary. She introduced herself as Dallas Tanner and the woman quickly got together her file.

“Oh that's right you’re our new transfer! Yes here, all of your files were sent over today from your old school. Got quite a recommendation from one of your teachers, they commented on your excellent grades. I hope you don't find the curriculum here too difficult to keep up with.” She smiled brightly and Dallas saw the rosiness in her cheeks which made her relax a little. This woman looked like a female Santa Claus, there was no way not to smile when you were around her.

“Your room assignment is here dear,” she passed Dallas a key. “Mila Kretchneycov is your new roommate. Very sweet girl, I'm sure you'll have no problems getting along with her.” She smiled at the small girl standing near the door.

Dallas took a moment holding the key in her hands; she never considered how amazing it would feel to have a place of her own.

“Now I see you are a part of our scholarship program, so that means all of your meals are included. As are all your textbooks and anything you should need for school, just make me a list of everything and we’ll have it provided for you.”

“Thank you,” Dallas said. She couldn’t believe she wouldn't have to worry about feeding herself or getting school supplies. “Do you know where I can do a little clothes shopping?”

The woman nodded, “The students are allowed off campus every weekend on Saturdays. Mila can show you around town, today's Thursday so that shouldn't be too much of a wait, right?”

“That's perfect,” Dallas stood to leave, “thank you very much.”

“Of course dear, oh and welcome to Allenwood!”

Dallas smiled and for the first time in years felt truly at home.

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Chapter 1

I
tucked my scarf into my North Face doing my best to trap the heat inside my coat. I would need it on the long ride to the hunting cabin on the other side of the property. It would take us at least three hours by way of snowmobile to arrive at the little secluded cabin in the woods. I had convinced Daddy that two friends and I would be messing around for the next couple days; movies, girl talk and plenty of alcohol to keep us toasty. What I hadn’t disclosed was that my two girlfriends weren’t really coming and instead I had invited my almost boyfriend Collin. After I would be accompanied to the cabin by Luke, one of our ranch hands, it would just be me and Collin Fawnsworth for the next blissful seventy-two hours.

Collin’s father owned a ranch much like my own and his pockets were overflowing with money. It was true we had grown up living similar lifestyles and I hoped that spending some quality time together would really solidify our upcoming nuptials. If you think that arranged marriages aren’t happening in the United States these days, you know nothing of the ranches of Colorado. All wealthy land owners with daughters find another wealthy land owner with a son to whisk her away, probably on bareback into the sunset. That is unless you are my father, who thinks a winter wedding between myself and Collin would be more appropriate. I think his reasoning is that you’d be crazy to take your clothes off in this type of frigid weather and let’s be serious, he doesn’t want to think about his daughter in that way.

I put my hands in my gloves, wiggling my fingers to make sure they were fully in before going outside. I looked out the window one last time, a small chill going through my body. It was really was a beautiful day. The sun was shining and created a gleam on the newly fallen snow. I could see across the ranch pretty far, looking out over an acre into the mountainside. There my visual ended meeting the roughness of the trees. They seemed foreboding, but I shook the feeling off as it was such a perfect winter day.

I called out to Linda our cook with my hand on the doorknob, “See you in a few days!”

I saw her smiling face pop around corner of our massive kitchen wiping her hands on the dishcloth. “You have a good time dear, but Cheyenne, be careful. My knee is tellin’ me a storm is coming.”

She rubbed her left knee gingerly. It’s her indicator. Linda is always predicting the weather, and to her credit she’s usually right. But on such a perfect winter day I couldn’t imagine that any harm could come to me.

“I gotcha. See ya!” I smiled at her before allowing the blistering cold to touch my cheeks as I left the comfort of my home.

The snow felt soft underneath my boots as I made my way across the open land to the barns. They house our cattle and horses but also all of my father’s big toys, including the snowmobiles. He had moved most of the equipment to the out buildings last year after he purchased another car. His toys could no longer fit in the six car garage that we owned. The machinery was a bit excessive, it was true, but I appreciated them being out in the barn as I could go out more often to visit the horses under the guise of checking on the ranch hands. Daddy didn’t like his toys bothered. As I approached the back of the stable I could hear a few horses neighing in the distance. They didn’t appreciate being cooped up like this but with the snow last night my father was afraid that some of the yearlings would freeze. The yearlings were wild and mischievous and they valued their freedom over anything else, probably even their lives. Being in the stables made them restless and uncomfortable, sometimes I felt just like them.

I stomped the snow off my boots and closed the door behind me feeling the warmth of the heated barn take the sting out of my skin. I walked through the office and found Fred the head of our household making small talk with Luke, one of the newest additions to our staff. I was slightly on edge that he was the one taking me out to the hunting cabin but I knew that Fred was too old to make the trip, though he would never admit it.

I had been watching Luke for the two months he had been working with us. I hated to admit it but a small crush had formed. Luke was tall and robust and filled out our ranch uniform easily. I could tell he had done manual labor most of his life by the state of his muscular build. Whenever we had encountered one another on the property he would always tip his hat and say “Good morning,” or “Good afternoon,” but he never extended the conversation. Sometimes conversation doesn’t matter though.

Occasionally I would catch him stealing glances at me while working. Once when I was brushing down a horse he stood by the stall placing feed in one of the buckets for an extremely long time, and admittedly I had taken an some extra time to brush the horse as well giving him a nice glimpse of my ass in my riding pants. Luke was gorgeous with gray eyes and shaggy brown hair, but he was completely off-limits. I was all right with that as long as I didn’t have to have any direct interaction with him, but that day fate had decided to intervene and everything changed.

“Ahh Miss.” Fred tipped his head slowly in my direction, “Luke here was just finishing up with the snowmobile. It appears that one of them is not working. I’m afraid you’ll have to ride together.”

I rolled my eyes. I was already annoyed that I had to have chaperone but now I had to hug onto Luke the hunk for next three hours in the freezing cold. It was going to be aggravatingly difficult to hide my little crush now. “Fred why don’t I just go alone?”

“Your father has highly discouraged you from riding by yourself Miss. And you know I have to agree. These woods can be dangerous at this time of year, you never know what you’ll come across.”

I bit the inside of my cheek. I would’ve fought harder with Fred over this issue but I knew he wouldn’t disobey my father even though sometimes I felt like Fred was more of my father than mine really was. Fred and Linda had come into our lives when my mother got sick, I was around six at the time. And when she passed away only two years later they became like surrogate parents. My father locked himself in his office over a year working in building up the ranch. He had been wildly successful and we were rich, but with money not with love. Not to say that my father didn’t love me because I knew in his own way he did, it was just difficult for him to show it.

Fred on the other hand had always been there for me cheering me on as a child and supporting me as I became an adult. In his eyes I was still “Little Miss,” his princess. Linda had kept me fed and warm and cleaned my boo-boos as a child. I still felt the need to say goodbye to her every time I left the house, even if it was just to go for a ride on one of the horses. They took care of me and my father provided for me, I was lucky.

“Fine,” I finally agreed. Luke looked up from his work, his gray eyes meeting mine under his chocolate bangs, a smudge of grease underneath his chin. When our eyes met there was a magnetism there that neither of us could deny. I could stare into those gray pools for hours and that worried me.

Why did I think Luke was so dreamy when I was on my way to see Collin?

Fred broke into my concentration. “The cabin should be prepared for you Miss. We sent a worker there yesterday to stock the cabin for the next few days. Now remember your cell phone won’t work out there, but there is the landline. The electric should keep the place nice and toasty for you and your companions. Is there anything you’ll be needing for your journey?”

“No Fred, thank you. Luke are you ready to go?”

“Just about, I need to get my pack Miss.”

I squinted my eyes at him in confusion; there was no need for him to bring a bag. He’d be back before nightfall, my father made sure that we would be leaving early enough for that. After he turned his back to me and was just out of earshot Fred said, “He likes to be prepared you know, for survival. He knows the dangers of the wild, perhaps better than any of us.” Concern crossed his face for only a moment. I could tell that he cared for Luke. The corner of my mouth rose as I thought of how he also cared for me.

“Fred,” I said putting my hand on his arm, “we’ll be fine. It’s really not that far, I wish you and Daddy wouldn’t worry.”

“Can’t help it Miss,” he said as he smiled, covering my hand with his own. “I will always worry about ya.”

“I know.” I said returning his gesture. He kissed me softly on the cheek before walking away. Luke rushed past him and climbed on the snowmobile. He strapped his pack on the machine next to my luggage then looked back at me and said, “You ready?”

I nodded and jumped on wrapping my arms around his tight chest. Even through the layers of our coats I could feel his strong torso muscles rippling as he turned on the snowmobile. Fred opened up the door and within seconds we were flying through the snow. It didn’t take long for my cheeks to start to sting from the biting cold, but the heat that was radiating from the body in front of me blocked some of the wind. After a while of flying past trees and riding through the beautiful glistening white, I snuggled my face down into the back of his jacket in order to keep my skin from becoming raw. He smelled like the woods, a piney scent that was hard for me to not be attracted to. I had always been in love with the outdoors and as Luke careened around rocks and other obstacles I felt like he was in his natural territory. He knew these woods well, which surprised me considering he had only been with us for a short time and all of this was our property. But then what Fred had said rang in my ears, what had he meant about knowing the woods, about being prepared for survival? I knew enough of how to get a fire going and even to skin a rabbit or a squirrel if I needed to eat out here but it was never something I would have to do. Was it something he had done? Had he needed to, in order to survive? I shook my head trying to release the thoughts of Luke out here in the cold by himself. It made me queasy just thinking about it.