He makes all of this worth it. My love for him overshadows anythingelse.
In that moment, all Annabelle wanted to do was wrap herself in Floyd’s arms. She loved being hugged by him, she wanted that safe sensation all over again, so despite the fact that there was not really much room, she crawled in besidehim.
“Ooh.” Floyd woke up with a jump. “Annabelle, you arehere.”
“I am sorry for waking you,” she replied with a smile while resting her head against his chest. “I just wanted to be near you. I have missedyou.”
Floyd enveloped Annabelle tightly. “I have missed you too, you have been so busy. I barely see you anymore. How is workgoing?”
“It is tiring, but it is better than having nowhere tolive.”
“That is true.” Floyd nodded happily. “And I am very much enjoying working with horses again. There is a lovely animal out there named Lady. She has red hair and fiery eyes. She reminds me very much ofyou.”
That seemingly innocent comment gave Annabelle pause for thought. In the last few weeks she had been so wrapped up in what she needed to do that she forgot about what she had done to Floyd, but now it all came rushing back hard. She took him away from his dream to open his own riding school, something that he was determined to achieve. Maybe he was not close to it, but he was working towards that. Now, all of that had gone and all he had to do was keep themgoing.
“She does?” Annabelle replied with a gulp. Her mind raced, she desperately tried to think of a way to apologize without saying ‘I am sorry’, because she knew he would not take that, but nothing came to mind. “Why?”
“She looks like you, apart from being a horse, of course.” Floyd laughed and gently kissed Annabelle’s head. “But she is also fun, exciting, and looking for anadventure.”
“This is my adventure,” Annabelle replied determinedly. “I am living it rightnow.”
“You believe this is where your adventure ends?” Floyd asked, sounding shocked. “I do not think you truly feel that way. I am sure you know that there is more coming foryou.”
I hope so, Annabelle thought. I hope we can continue working towards Floyd’sgoal.
"I love you," she murmured while turning her head up to look at Floyd. That fact did not change even when everything else did. “Verymuch.”
Her heart hammered rapidly as he leaned his head down towards her. Even now that they had kissed on more than one occasion, she still got butterflies when those beautiful lips of his came towards her. When he pressed his mouth into hers, everything feltwonderful.
“I love you,too.”
Annabelle did not want to move again, even if it would not be the most comfortable night of sleep. She wanted to drift off into the much-needed dream world with Floyd's arms wrapped around her. Of course, it was hard for her to adjust to this when the rules that had surrounded her for her whole life commanded that she behaved in a certain way, especially around men, but shaking it off was the best way for her to embrace this adventure for everything that itwas.
“You are right,” she commented idly. “I do think there is more to this adventure. I just need to remember that so I do not get stuckhere.”
“You are working very hard, I am surprised that you are not already looking for a way out,” Floyd chuckled. Annabelle had shocked him with how willing she was to make this work. “But yes, I believe there is more to our lives. I am not certain of what, but we shall find out soonenough.”
“That sounds exciting,” Annabelle replied gleefully. “What do you have inmind?”
“I do not even want to think about it, I just want to let ithappen.”
Floyd seemed like a man who always had a plan. Annabelle could not fully believe his words, but she knew there had to be a reason for him to keep it inside. She could have pushed him to find out more, but for some reason, that did not feel like the right thing todo.
“Yes,” she replied instead. “I do too. As long as I am with you, it shall bewonderful.”
With that one thought in mind, Annabelle slid her eyes closed and she drifted into sleep with a smile playing on her lips. She allowed her imagination to drift off into the wonderful places that she and Floyd might go. Maybe they would end up on a boat, travelling the world. Maybe they would end up living in a small cottage in the countryside, next door to Floyd’s riding school. Maybe Annabelle would even have a career of her own to help keep them afloat. Yes, she worked hard and was tired, but she could no longer imagine doing absolutely nothing with hertime.
Now that she had filled her days, she needed to continue doingthat.
She did not know what would happen, but things were great. Everything had been amazing since she and Floyd moved into Mr. Brentwood's home, and she could only see things looking up. There was nothing that could burst her wonderfulbubble.
