CHAPTER 2

The Rosemond Estate is enormous in size.
Lush greens, a huge Victorian mansion, several rings, a bunch of maids and… two riders on horseback, drowsily moving across the lawn.
The first one is a woman of seventy, looking gorgeous despite her age.
The second one is a young exotic goddess, with a curvy, athletic body and face to die for. She is in her half 20s, and looks like the sun peeping in a winter day.
“It’s a beautiful home you have here, Mrs. Rosemond”, the young lady says.
Mrs. Rosemond smiles warmly.
“Thank you, Carmen. Chance Hill has been with my family for over sixty years”.
She turns to her.
“Does your family do much riding?”.
Carmen shrugs her shoulders, sheepishly.
“My mother and I used to ride a lot, before she got sick”.
Mrs. Rosemond bends her head.
“I am sorry about that”.
“My Grandpa, used to breed horses on his farm so I would come over and ride all the time”, Carmen adds pensively, staring at the lawn in front of her.
“I’m familiar with a lot of breeders. What’s his name?”.
“Ben Perez”, Carmen answers.
“Perez. Mexican?”.
Carmen smiles.
“Spanish”.
“Doesn’t ring a bell”, Mrs. Rosemond mutters.
Carmen gives her a concerned look, and the older woman sighs.
“In any event, I want you to consider this your home for the time being”.
Carmen flashes her a million dollar smile.
“Oh, thank you so much… It’s so peaceful and quiet around here…”.
She barely finishes speaking than a loud shotgun sounds in the distance.
Carmen frowns.
“What was that?”.
Mr. Rosemond half-smiles distractedly, pulling the rein.
“Shane must me here”.
She starts galloping down the ridge, followed by Carmen.

Shane is standing in the middle of the lawn, holding a shotgun.
A groundskeeper is standing by the trap.
“Pull!”, Shane shouts, and the target soars into the air.
She fires the gun, and the disk breaks in pieces.
She quietly reloads her rifle, taking aim.
“Shane!”, Mrs. Rosemond calls her, laughing.
Shane lowers her rifle and turns to see her aunt and the beautiful guest riding over her.
She waves, the ghost of a smile appearing on her face.
Mrs. Rosemond dismounts from her horse and they hug tightly.
“I’ve been looking all over for you”, Shane says, rocking back and forth gently, “God, I’ve missed you”.
Mrs. Rosemond giggles into her charming niece’s arms.
“I’ve missed you too”, she pulls back, cupping her face and watching her sweetly, “How are your parents?”.
Shane smiles.
“They’re coming back next week. I write them everyday”.
She strokes her cheek, lovingly.
“Shane”, Mrs. Rosemond says waving towards Carmen, “This is Carmen Morales. She’s going to be staying with me for a few weeks”.
Shane stares at her and her green eyes are attentive, shining.
“I guess that makes two of us… Welcome…”, she murmurs politely, extending her hand.
Carmen shakes it, half-smiling and watching Shane straight in the eyes.
“Aunt Helen, why don’t you head in whip us up some of that ice tea of yours?”, Shane asks, turning to Mrs. Rosemond, “We’ll take care of the horses”.
The older lady smiles.
“Anything for you, my dear”.
Shane climbs on her aunt’s horse and waves at her.
“Stay out of trouble you two!”, Mrs. Rosemond exclaims, walking away.
“We will”, Shane replies smiling at Carmen and beckoning her to follow.
“So, Carmen…”, she says, and she likes the way her names rolls onto her tongue, “…What year are you going to?”.
“Third”, Carmen simply replies. Her dark eyes are fixed on the lawn before her.
“Got a boyfriend back home?”, Shane asks nonchalantly.
“No”.
Shane frowns, smiling.
“Why not?”.
Carmen just shrugs.
“I don’t know. Relationships seem to distracting. I’d rather concentrate on my studies”.
“Are you frigid?”, Shane chuckles.
Carmen throws her an annoyed look.
“No. Are you often this offensive on a first encounter?”.
Shane’s eyebrows arch in surprise.
“I was just being honest. You happen to be too hot to be frigid. It would be a shame”.
Carmen shakes her head.
“I read your manifesto, you know…”, Shane murmurs.
“You did?”.
She tilts her head.
“I must say I found it rather appalling”.
Carmen smiles joylessly.
“That’s a first. Most people praised me for it”.
“Most people are morons. I mean, who are you to knock what you’ve never experienced?”, Shane cuts in, flatly.
Carmen sighs.
“I wasn’t knocking anything. It’s just my belief that people shouldn’t actually experience the act of love until they are in love… And that most people are too immature to be really in touch with those emotions”.
She speaks in a very calm tone. A tone that Shane can’t help but admire, despite everything.
“Oh, really?”, she replies, though.
Carmen waves her hand in her direction.
“Take yourself. You’ve slept with several women”, she considers, staring at her seriously, “Are you happier because of it?”.
Shane’s eyes narrow.
“How do you know I’ve been with several women?”.
Carmen turns her head back towards the lawn.
“A friend wrote me”.
Shane’s voice sounds more pissed than she thought it would be.
“Well, maybe you should get to know the person before you judge them instead of listening to some bullshit gossip”.
Carmen blinks, watching her with guilty eyes and an infinitesimal crack opens, somewhere, inside of Shane.
Just because of that look.
“I am sorry. I didn’t mean to upset you… but you still didn’t answer the question”.
An uncomfortable silence falls between them.
“Who the hell is taking the time to write letters, spreading this shit about me?”, Shane asks, still pissed.
“It’s not really important”, Carmen replies, quietly.
Shane’s jaw clenches.
“Fine. Forget it. It’s obvious that we’re not going to be friends”.
Carmen can’t help but chuckle.
“Why are you being so dramatic?”, she says, smiling at her.
“Look, I’ve got a lot of problems and I’m trying to deal with them and the last thing I need is people spreading shit about me”.
Carmen’s smile disappears and she stops the horse.
“Alright. I said I was sorry…”, she ducks her head trying to meet Shane’s eyes.
“Can we start over again? I think we’ve gotten off on the wrong foot”.
She extends her hands and something into her soulful eyes hits Shane. Deeper than she thought.
They shake hands.
“Carmen Morales”, she says, giving her a breathtaking smile.
“Shane McCutcheon”, Shane replies muttering. She holds Carmen’s hand a bit longer.
“So tell me, Carmen. I am curious, since you’ve never had sex do you touch yourself?”.
Carmen whisks her hand away and pulls the reins. Her horse starts galloping.
“What did I say?”, Shane yells, clueless.