Chapter 18
TAYLOR
Rod was crazy. What man… ever… wanted a box of tampons?
Except, my box of tampons was where I kept extra money hidden from Dad. Still, there wasn’t more than eighty or ninety dollars in there. That meager amount was why I hadn’t been able to move out.
“Look, Rod, you should just go.”
Our shouting conversation was happening through my closed window. I was sweating, but it wasn’t because the interior of the car was warm. I didn’t know how to handle someone who was clearly insane.
“I can’t, you bitch!” His eyes were wild as he ran his hands through his hair, making it stand on end. “You took the tampons and it has the drugs.”
I stilled. Drugs. This was about drugs. Drugs Rod was clearly using.
“I don’t have the box here in the car!” I yelled.
His gaze narrowed. “I don’t believe you.”
I wanted to roll my eyes. “No matter what you think, women don’t carry a box of tampons around with them. Where’s my father?”
While he’d told me to pick between him and Cam and made it clear our relationship was over, he was still my father. And since Rod was waving a tire iron around and driving Dad’s car, I had to wonder what he’d done to him.
Rod was pacing, two steps toward the front of the car, two steps to the back.
I eyed the tire iron the entire time. That could smash a window.
And me. I unclicked my seatbelt and reached down to shift the seat back, then climbed over to the passenger side.
If he was going to break the window, I wanted to be away from whatever he was going to do.
I could maybe jump out the far side and run if I had to. I needed to be ready.
Rod and I heard it at the same time. Sirens. He spun around, looked down the road.
The sheriff was here! God, tears came to my eyes with relief. Since the vehicle was coming from the direction of the Wilder ranch, I had to assume it was Colt. A car I recognized was tailing it. My heart skipped a beat and I was relieved and so fucking happy at the same time.
Cam was coming.
I’ll always take care of you.
“FUCK!” Rod shouted, then dropped the tire iron and ran for Dad’s SUV. He climbed in and peeled out, whipping around me then doing a U-turn.
I watched him fly past, engine whining, as he headed back toward town.
But coming from that direction were more patrol cars.
Unless he went off-road, Rod was trapped.
Cam’s truck skidded to a stop beside me, right in the middle of the road. He hopped out and because we faced opposite directions, he was to me in just a few steps.
I climbed back over the arm rest, opened my driver’s door and flew into his arms. “Cam!”
“Fuck, red.” He held me tight. Maybe too tight, but I wasn’t going to complain. He felt so sturdy. So strong.
“You scared the shit out of me,” he breathed against my neck.
Only when he’d calmed and taken a breath, he pulled his head back and kissed me.
And I kissed him right back. Like I needed his mouth on me to survive.
Maybe I did.
I heard footsteps, but ignored them. Heard a car pull up. Ignored it, too.
“Cam, you think you can stop mauling Taylor long enough for us to find out what the fuck is going on?” Colt asked.
Cam growled, but pulled his lips from mine. I looked to my left. There was Colt, hands on hips. His radio on his utility belt was chattering away. In the distance, were the cop cars that blocked in Dad’s SUV.
“You okay, Taylor? Not hurt, are you?” Colt wondered. He eyed me, but in a clinical way. Nothing like the way Cam looked me over.
Cam put me down but wrapped his arm around my shoulder.
I shook my head. “No. I’m good. He only scared me.”
Colt picked up the tire iron on the ground beside my open car door.
“Any idea why he approached and threatened you?” he asked.
“He wants her box of tampons,” Shep offered, tucking his thumbs into his jeans pockets.
Colt raised a brow, but since he was a sheriff, he’d probably heard crazier things.
“It was where I keep some extra cash so my dad wouldn’t find it, but Rod said there were drugs in there.”
“In your box of tampons,” Colt repeated.
I nodded. “I took it–the box–the other night when Cam and I went to get some of my things.”
“Why was Rod in your house, let alone in that box? I doubt you keep it out on the counter for easy access. Does your father know Rod? Did you ever take him there before when you dated?”
I shrugged because Colt had a lot of questions and I only had a few answers.
“He met my dad once when he first came to town to work at the Two Rivers Ranch. Back in late May. He picked me up once. If he went to the bathroom and dug around under the sink, I wouldn’t know.
I don’t know why he’d get into my tampons though. ”
Colt scratched his head below his Stetson.
“Sounds like he either hid drugs there over the summer while you were dating or he’s become friends with your father since you broke up.”
I shrugged. “I’m sure you don’t really want to know this, but the last time I needed to use the tampons, I didn’t see any drugs in the box.
That was almost a month ago. The other night, Dad told me that I should get back together with Rod, which I thought was ridiculous.
After what he did… Plus, when we went to get my things, his car–Dad’s–wasn’t in the driveway.
I asked him where it was and he said he let a friend borrow it. ”
“A friend. So a twenty-something kid who only came to Devil’s Ditch for a job at the Trout ranch is friends with your dad? Where is this box of tampons?” Colt asked.
“Cam’s place,” I told him.
Colt flicked his gaze to Cam.
“I’ll take her to get it,” Cam told him. “Bring it to the station.”
It meaning the box and possibly the drugs Rod mentioned. I highly doubted he wanted any of the tampons.
Colt nodded. “I’ve got to bring your dad in for questioning. You okay with that?”
I held up my hands. “He gave me an ultimatum the other night. I’m done with him.”
He studied me for a moment and I was glad I wasn’t being interrogated. He was intimidating.
“I got her,” Cam said, kissing the top of my head.
“You good?” Colt asked.
“Yeah. I was scared, but I’m good,” I replied.
Colt tipped his hat and went back to his SUV.
Shep went to my car, climbed in and tried to start it. Nothing, just like the last time I attempted it.
As he unfolded his big body from the seat, he said to Cam, “If you drop me at the shop, I’ll get the tow truck and get it back to see what’s going on.”
“What happened to Marv?” Cam asked.
“You don’t want to know,” Shep muttered. “The worst hire ever. I doubt I’m gonna hire anyone ever again after him.”
I didn’t know who Marv was, but I assumed a guy who’d worked at Shep’s shop but did a really bad job. Got fired, too.
“That sucks,” Cam said, then switched back to what just happened. He glanced down at me. “You mentioned you had trouble starting it for a while now. I don’t think it’s a coincidence Rod was behind you right when your car died.”
I blinked, trying to keep up. Were they thinking the reason my car had been having trouble was because of Rod? That he’d been messing with my car for weeks?
“I’ll look into it and let Colt know if something’s up,” Shep said.
Cam nodded. “Come on, red. Let’s get what Colt needs.” He turned me to face him, cupped my face and made me meet his blue eyes. “Whatever happens, know that you’re mine and I protect what’s mine.”
I knew that. He’d just proved it by actions and words.
All I could do was nod and be thankful I wasn’t alone any longer.