*Mary's POV*
"Tyler, for god sakes stop throwing mini quiches at your brother!" I scolded my youngest son, who only threw Marcus a glare and stalked off to another direction, shooting some winks at a few blushing young girls.
Marcus walked off to a different direction, a triumphant smirk on his little devilish face.
I sighed, a small worried smile forming on my own face. Jack came back with two glasses of champagne, a suggestive look in his eyes.
"How 'bout something to wet your whistle?" he passed me the champagne to which I gratefully took and gulped it all down in one go.
Jack was watching me, his eyebrows arched high.
"Somethin' happen? Sweetheart." He asked me, taking the flute glass cup out of my hands and setting it onto the table behind us.
"Just the boys, darling. I worry about them sometimes." I said, my throat tightening up as it always did when I worried about my precious babies.
"Sometimes always means always with you, Mary. Why don't you tell me what's really on yo' mind." Being married to this charmer for twenty six years has had its up and downs.
"I can't help but think I rushed Cam into marrying Lucinda, who only left him by the alter crushed. Jack, it feels like it's my fault, maybe if I wasn't too pushy, maybe if I was more patient. . . then maybe he wouldn't have been so unhappy for two and a half years.
Maybe he wouldn't have gone bed hopping with the town girls, or avoid seeing anything romantic. . .you don't see it Jack, no one does. But I do.
I can see the way his face pinches up when we look at each other, or when we kiss he immediately leaves the room looking so sickly pale and so. . .murderously sad and angry. . . Jack. . . I think I may have ruined our boy." I tried so hard not to cry, but alas a few tears escaped.
Jack immediately wiped them off with his hands gently, bringing me closer to his warm body that has been my anchor for so many years.
"Nothing is your fault, Mary. Nothing. It was Lucinda who ruined our boy, who left him standing there at the alter for his best friend. It wasn't you." Jack soothed, patting and rubbing my back in slow motions.
I breathed in deeply, willing myself not to break in front of all these people.
"If you hadn't been so. . .pushy, then the ranch wouldn't have done so well. Then our boys would have grown into little hell raisers and Susanne wouldn't have grown into our innocent precious baby girl." He continued, swaying us from side to side, dancing.
His words did make me feel a little better, made my heart beat fast with love instead of fear.
"Your right, there could have been other things. I mean, at least none of our children act like your brother Rufus." Jack stiffened, looking at me with suspicious eyes.
"What's wrong with being gay?" he almost snapped at me, I wanted to reach over and thunk him on the head.
"Nothing, you big dummy. I was referring to his wild escapades." Rufus could turn the town upside down when he stopped by for a visit.
"Ah, Rufus never liked to sit still." He chuckled, throwing me an apologetic smile.
I rolled my eyes in faux annoyance, and then grinned at him as I leaned forward to peck him on his soft lips.
Over twenty years, and I still couldn't get enough of Jack.
"Hey, ma, pa." Susanne's sad voice greeted us as we came back to sit down at our reserved table.
"What's wrong sweetheart?" then I immediately winced. What was wrong was the fact that Tucker was here with his promiscuous girlfriend, almost flaunting the annoying blonde into Susanne's face.
"Oh, nothing. Just the usual, but hey look at Cam! He looks so happy with Jessie." Susanne pointed behind us, over to the laughing couple.
Cam was twirling Jessie around, leaning his head in close to whisper into her ear, which sent her into another fit of giggles as Cam laughed along with her, heartily.
"That girl is perfect for Cam." I observed the couple, happy with what I was seeing. Cam was smiling, having the most fun I've ever seen him have in years.
"I knew you hired her for a different reason. Stable hand my ass, you wanted her with Cam." Jack's surprised voiced said slyly to me; I giggled and playfully whacked him softly on the arm.
"Well, it worked didn't it? They look so happy together. Besides, she had this special light in her eyes, like she wanted to see the world. And I thought, why not give it to her?" I smugly added, which gave Jack an exasperated smile and Susanne covering her mouth as she laughed into her hands.
"You smart devil, you." Jack accused me, shaking his head.
"You married her." I reminded him with a smile that showed him all the wonderful years we've spent together.
"Yes I did." He agreed, wrapping his arms around my waist and planted a small kiss to my forehead.
Susanne smiled at us, but her eyes glazed over in sadness for a second before she pushed it back and became impassive.
I shook my head, not allowing my beautiful daughter spend a night crying over someone who obviously doesn't love her back.
"Ignore him sweetheart, he's not worth your tears." I encouraged her whole heartedly, knowing how sad she looked when I implied Tucker.
"I should go over there and beat that little punk for making my little girl cry." Jack grumbled angrily. I could feel my husband's muscles tighten and bunch up underneath his skin.
Susanne got up with a tight smile and ran a quick hand down her dress. I could see her arms move in stiff, jerky movements as her eyes had an angry, fed up undertone.
"I am not your little girl anymore, dad. I can take care of myself. And momma's right, I am just going to forget about Tucker." With that, she left with a more real smile as she sashayed off.
Jack sat there in a stony silence; I tried to lighten the mood.
"Hey diddle diddle fiddle-" Jack snorted out a laugh and threw a carrot at me, shaking his head.
"What was that?" he laughed, sipping on some water while trying not to choke.
"Thought it would get me a few laughs, WHICH IT DID!!!." I snapped at him in one of my weird moods, which made him choke.
I sure hope none of my children inherit my snappy abrupt moods.
"I love it when you act like that!" he coughed, thumping on his chest a few times as he spluttered out a liquid laugh.
"Don't we all . . . .you know, sweet heart. . . I bet the bathrooms are going to be empty for a while . . . perfect for a quick lovin'." I hinted to him, placing my hand on his upper thigh and stroked it down and up.
Jack coughed a few times, stared at me in amazement and lust, then the next minute we're almost running for the bathrooms.
I wonder how long we'll take this time. After all, the past Buckley balls we had our real fun in lasted for an hour.
Jessie's POV
"No, you threw shit at me and that's that." I giggled, delighted and amused by the crazy stories Cam made up about me approaching him with crap in my hands while he was trying to innocently finish his chores.
"Lying woman, NOW DANCE WITH ME!!!" he commanded, getting me all giggly again. For the past few hours we've been here it's been non-stop laughs with Cam.
When we came back to the reserved table for the Buckley's, I collapsed into my chair and poured myself a glass of orange juice.
"That was fun." Cam nodded to me, winking. Throughout the dance he kept trying to feel me up, as I did the same to him.
"You are such an incredibly dancer Cam, didn't know you had it in you." I complemented the blonde gorgeous man, who feigned utter happiness.
"Means so much comin' from a trouble of a stable hand." He nudged my shoulder playfully with his; I turned to look at him with a grin and returned back to my juice.
It felt so refreshing, and I thought I would almost die when the waiters came out holding large silver trays, with some of the most delicious foods I have ever seen.
My plate was some of the biggest prawns I've ever dreamed of, with octopus and lobster and a seasoned slice of smoked salmon. I started to drool in my mouth so I hungrily tuck in, pushing my hair behind my shoulders.
Cam had his own plate of a thick steak, to his smug smile. He really dug in; I guess dancing worked up an appetite.
The guests were having fun, it seemed. The ballroom was cleared, and almost every seat was filled.
"So, why is it called the Buckley Ball?" I asked, were they the town founders?
"Well, in 1706 the town was named, and to hold a celebration they held a ball every year. Only one problem, what to call it? Annual Town Celebration sounded to plain, so to make it fair for all the competitors who wanted the town celebration named after them they held a hat and drew out one of the founder's names. It happened to be Buckley, so it's been the Buckley Ball ever since." Susanne explained, cutting into her chicken schnitzel with salad.
Huh, that's how it all started?
"You havin' fun, sweetheart?" Cam asked me, leaning back and patting his belly with a satisfied smile.
"Lots." I grinned; I'd never really been to a dance and to come to a town ball? It's surreal.
After the dinners had finished, there were people performing on stage. One act was a girl, juggling bowling pins that were on fire. I cringed into my seat, terrified.
She didn't seem to notice her hands burning!
"Relax, Australia. Martha knows what she's doin'." Cam said carelessly, wrapping a reassuring warm arm around my shoulders.
I blushed, for some reason I don't know. Maybe it was because tonight was the most we've ever been close to each other, or the trying to be subtle watching eyes of the onlookers.
The next acts weren't as scary, there was a beautiful pale skinned boy, around seventeen, who could sing like a gospel angel. His voice was so. . .soft and melodic, a really beautiful thing to hear. He had some of the girls swooning as well.
"That's Jack Tenant. His family was a descendant of the Tenant town founders as well; he's actually a pretty sweet kid." Cam informed me, I slowly nodded as I stared in awe at the black haired, blue eyes pale boy.
The acts were becoming one big haze to me, one town founder after another. There was Calisto De Meuro, an attractive Hispanic man who could do that trick with spinning plates on a long rod thingy, except he did it with expensive fine china, I'd been told by Mary-who came back looking a little ruffled alongside Jack-and Calisto had managed to not break a single one.
He had most of the female audience cheering and swooning.
There was also a French woman, Dawn Isabella, who could sing such amazing opera, though I cringed a little from the high tones. She was a large woman, but very beautiful. With strawberry blonde hair and grey eyes, a total knock out.
More acts, specifically more town founder acts. Name after name, the Courtsiens, O'Neil's, Ricosapra, Donersburgs, Allen's, etc.
I also learned that each town founder had done an act. And the last act was the Buckley's.
The Buckley's acts would also be a dance performance.
And I was in it.
FUCK.
I started to panic on the inside, I mean I can't dance! Especially with all these people!
Cam whispered to me that it would be fine, almost like an introductory to the town for me.
The music started out with a violin as Cam wrapped his arms around me-I was almost shaking with fright-and he whisked us off into the dance floor, as one Buckley couple followed after the other had danced off.
Cam and I were the first to start, and my beating heart didn't slow as my red hot face almost melted. The next couple was Jack and Mary, then Susanne and a man I didn't notice before. Each of the Buckley brothers had sensible looking enough women dancing with them.
Then I noticed why this dance was so special.
You had to know your place every second, because as each couple moved in and out of the circle, it made it look like a circle formation, but also like waves. Like a random piece of the circle rising out as the couples beside them went inside the circle.
Three couples moved in, Tyler and his dance partner-a red headed tan woman who was dressed in a blue ocean dress- Jack and Mary as well on the outside, and Perry, with his blonde headed partner.
The couples that moved out were Cam and me, Marcus and his date, and Susanne with the unknown good looking man.
My panic never loosened its hold on my jumping heart, though Cam seemed fine.
Totally fine he seemed, like he was used to the attention the town gave him. The lucky bastard didn't notice me almost bursting into tears.
After what honestly seemed like an eternity in hell, the dance ended with one couple in the middle of the circle: Cam and I.
I was breathing so heavily, my feet felt numb. Cam whisked us away to our table, trying to get me to sit down. I didn't want to cause a scene so when all the eyes were directed to the stage; I quietly got up and walked to the bathroom, checking behind me to see if anyone was watching.
I didn't want to throw water at myself; I'd ruin my make- up. Instead I splashed some cold water on my hands, shook the drops off and pressed my hands to my forehead and cheeks.
I truly felt like the pauper, I wasn't a princess or someone who belonged here.
I was more like Cinderella, pretending to be someone regal.
I don't know what it was that made me crack, maybe it was the way I easily forgot my old life when I was with Cam.
He made me forget everything when I was around him, so easily, so easily I felt like I was betraying my old self.
The door opened, and I heard the click clack of thick heels.
"Humph. What are you doin' out here, princess?" ugh.
Lucinda Wright.
"Get lost, Lucinda." I'm really not in the mood to argue with her.
She giggled, the sound was so revolting to my ears.
"Y'know what? I think you're hiding something." She said, immediately my muscles locked.
"What do you mean?" I asked stiffly.
She rolled her eyes at me, giving me a pointed look that said 'I'm not an idiot'.
"C'mon, you expect me to believe that a girl like you just waltzes in and gets a job that quick? That you get Cam that quick? No. I think you're running from something."
I didn't say anything; my lips were pressed into a thin line as I stared down at the ground.
"Or maybe it's that you're running from someone." She said, walking around me in a circle.
Oh god, she guessed right.
"I'm not running from anything or anyone-" I lied through my teeth, and then a sudden thought popped into my head to distract her.
"But I'm curious as to why a girl like you, someone who left their fiancée at the alter for his best friend, comes back into town almost three years later, still attached to the man she ran off with but claims she still wants her ex."
At that, her eyes grew wide, wide with panic. She swallowed roughly, turning a pale shade.
"You don't know anything about Cam and I's relationship! He's still with me, still in love with me!" she snapped angrily, stepping closer to me in what she thought was menacing manner.
"God damn it, Lucinda!" an angry voice yelled at her, and it was the source of our little tiff.
"Cam, darling, didn't expect you to be listening in." she fake smiled, fixing her hair.
I clenched my jaw and looked away from him, but I couldn't help but look at the reflection, Cam was glowering at Lucinda, who shrank back.
"Get the hell out, you whore." He snapped at her, in a scary calm that would have peed the pants of a soldier.
She quickly ran out of the bathroom, making little sobs. I kept washing my hands, trying to make at least one part of my body cold.
"Baby, you alright?" Cam's arms wrapped around my waist, his head resting on my shoulder.
"No." I snapped at him, yanking on the paper towel dispenser viciously.
"What did I do?" he asked softly, I almost felt guilty and turned around to comfort him.
Almost.
"You fucking paraded me in front of the whole town, Cam! Do you have any idea how humiliated I am?! Why didn't you tell me that I would be in the last act with you?!" I yelled at him, frustrated.
I gritted my teeth as I wiped my hands, leaving Cam in a shocked silence.
"I told you, it was an introduction to the town. You weren't supposed to know about it. Why the hell are ya upset anyway?! You did fine out there!" he snapped back, spinning me around to face him as he held me at arm's length.
"How do you think it makes me look out there, having no fucking idea of what I'm doing?! You fucking humiliated me and you don't even care!" I cried angrily at him, clawing at his arms.
"You sound like a fuckin' spoiled brat. No, you sound like Lucinda." He shook me once with his hands, my jaw unclenched as I stared at him, horrified.
"Let go of me." My voice didn't shake, but it held a certain warning if he didn't. Cam released me harshly; it was like he almost threw me to the wall. His eyes just gave me an icy stare, looking down at me like I really was Lucinda.
I felt sick, truly horrified of what he said.
Tears sprang behind my eyes as I walked past him and out to the ball room, I almost passed out from the eyes that flickered over to me.
I paled, going a sickly shade that displayed what I felt.
I just shrank back, walking out of the ball room with a fake smile, letting everyone think I was okay.
Once I was finally outside, the cold icy air slapping against my melting skin. I tried so hard not to cry, because I knew it was childish.
I had gone and ruined the night, and almost as if the universe was mocking me, the big town clock chimed three times.
It was midnight.
Like how it went in the fairy tale, midnight is where Cinderella turned back into the pauper.
The heels I was wearing really hurting my feet, at that moment I didn't care if one fell off. In fact, I shrugged it off, kicking it in front of me.
I kept on walking, unsure of where to go.
Back to the ranch? Where I will eventually face him, or sleep on the streets for the night?
I sighed, knowing I was too much of a pampered woman to sleep on the streets. I shrugged and walked towards the direction of the ranch, walking as if I had a limp thanks to the shoe that was still on my other foot.
I don't know how long it took me to get back to the ranch, I wasn't good with directions anyway. But there it was the familiar ranch house.
As I turned the door knob, I frowned as I realized the Buckley's didn't lock the doors after them.
How dangerous was that?
I locked the door behind me as I entered the ranch house, it felt devoid of joy as I walked up the stairs and into my room.
I collapsed onto the bed, shrugging out of my dress as I threw it to the floor.
When I closed my eyes, I knew I would have a nightmare.
*Author's Note*
Hey, ya'all!
Sorry I haven't uploaded in a while; I was actually trying to write the chapter and came up short.
But now its finally up, sooo tell me what you thought about the chapter!!!!
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