7. Bowen
Chapter 7
Bowen
I raised the ax over my head and brought it down, splitting the wood in two. My shoulders and arms ached from the work, but I couldn’t stop until the relentless echo of Grady’s words in my head faded. Blisters had formed along my palms, rubbed raw from the ax’s wooden handle. Sweat dripped into my eyes and slicked down my spine. As the day grew hotter, I abandoned my shirt on a nearby tree branch.
“When I said you could chop some wood,” Beau called as he approached. “I didn’t mean you had to do it all day.”
I shrugged, lining up another piece of wood and raising the ax again. Beau had spotted me packing up my truck and offered to lend a hand, no questions asked. Then I found myself having breakfast at their little home, tucked into a meadow, surrounded by trees.
Technically, I was still on Grady’s property, since he’d gifted a small tract of land to Beau and Rory as a wedding present. But I didn’t plan to stay long. I just needed to get my bearings. I still felt shell-shocked after this morning. Hearing Grady tell me to leave had rattled me more than I realized.
I could always get work somewhere else. There was no shortage of ranches in Colorado that needed a seasoned cowhand like me.
It wouldn’t be High Plains though. For twenty years, I came to think of this place as my home. It didn’t belong to me, and it never would, but it would hurt like hell to never see it again.
And what about Avery?
I heard Avery and Grady in the house when I left, going at each other like rabid dogs. If Grady didn’t even want me on his property, he would never accept that his daughter had chosen me. I had to make peace with the fact that I could lose Avery, too.
I swung the ax, shattering the wood.
“Why don’t you take a break?” Beau suggested. “It’s almost lunch time anyway.”
“Not hungry,” I muttered.
“You’ve been at this for three hours.”
I said nothing, stacking the chopped wood into my arms and depositing it on the pile at the cabin’s back door.
“Will you just tell me what’s going on?” Beau demanded. “I heard the boss chewing your head off earlier. Then he kicked you out."
I picked up the ax, savoring the weight of it in my grip.
“I did something unforgivable.”
“Which was…?”
Before I could respond, my phone rang in my back pocket. I pulled it out and glanced at the screen to see Avery’s name. I switched my phone to mute and returned it to my pocket. She would be furious with me, but maybe it was better this way.
I was a hired hand, easy to fire, easy to replace. Avery was Grady’s daughter—his flesh and blood, his family. She was used to getting what she wanted, just like her father. In this case though, getting what she wanted could destroy the perfectly good life she already had.
Eventually, Avery would hunt me down and demand to know why I wasn’t answering her calls. She would insist we could make this work, but I wasn’t so sure. Not after seeing the gaping divide between Avery and Grady this morning.
Rory emerged from the cabin with a sleeping Beau Jr. bundled in her arms, and a large tote bag slung over one shoulder. Beau made a noise of frustration and hurried over to her before she’d even reached the porch steps.
“Rory, darlin’, you’re supposed to be resting, remember?”
He scooped the baby up and slid the tote bag off her shoulder.
“I can’t stand staying cooped up here for another minute,” Rory replied. “I’m going to the bakery.”
Beau took a breath to protest, but she placed a hand on his chest with a reassuring pat.
“I’m not working, I promise. I’m dropping off a few loaves of bread I baked, and looking around. That’s all. Won’t take more than an hour.”
“I can drive you,” I offered. “I have a few errands to run anyway.”
Beau glanced at me.
“Are you using this as an excuse to dodge my question that you still haven’t answered?”
“Absolutely.”
Rory spoke up.
“What question?”
“It’s nothing,” I replied.
“The boss cussed him out this morning,” Beau put in. “Before the crack of dawn, I heard him laying into Bowen like there’s no tomorrow.”
Rory blinked in surprise.
“About what?”
“It’s really nothing,” I repeated, more firmly this time. Abandoning the ax by the chopping block, I retrieved my shirt from the tree branch. “Can I take you into town or not?”
Rory and Beau exchanged a quick glance. This wouldn’t be the end of our conversation. They would team up and hound me until I finally broke and told them everything.
“Take a quick shower first,” Beau said, tilting his chin toward the cabin. “Don’t make my wife share a ride with you smelling like that.”
“I don’t mind sweaty cowboys,” Rory said. “I live with one, after all.”
He sidled closer and hooked a finger into the back pocket of her overalls with a tug.
“Maybe I’m looking for an excuse to stall and keep you here a little longer.”
A fond smile spread across Rory’s face, accompanied by a pleased blush.
“I’m still going into town, Beau.”
“Give me a minute to work my magic,” he countered, cupping her cheek in his palm. “I’ve managed to seduce my wife into changing her mind more than once, you know.”
She sputtered a laugh against his mouth as she kissed him.
I looked away, feeling like an intruder on Beau and Rory’s private life. Even though I knew they would welcome me to stay as long as I needed to, seeing them share a family moment like this was a stark reminder that I had to move on.
***
Thankfully, Rory didn’t press me for information during the drive into Ash Ridge. When I dropped her off at the Bread & Butter Bakery, she swatted my hand when I tried to help her with the tote bag full of bread.
“It’s not that heavy,” she said. “And I’m only walking ten feet to the bakery. I’ll be fine. Just don’t tell Beau. Meet you back here in an hour?”
“Call me if you want to head home early,” I replied.
Rory smiled and patted my forearm with appreciation, before she climbed out and disappeared inside. I intended to spend the next hour asking around for work.
After visiting half a dozen small farms and ranches, they all needed a hired hand, which gave me plenty of options to choose from. I had my pick of available jobs…except for the one I wanted the most at High Plains.
Since I still had twenty minutes to burn before I picked up Rory, I stopped by the Big Bull Bar & Grill for a drink. The dim, low lighting was a welcome respite from the blazing, bright sun outside. As I made my way to the bar, my gaze snagged on a figure slouched at a table near the back of the room.
Recognition jolted up my spine.
That little prick Isaac Farley was here. With his legs stretched out and his chin dipped low to his chest, an array of glasses were spread across the table before him. He looked like he’d been drinking for a while.
What was he still doing in Ash Ridge? Did he really think he could get to Avery now that she had a fucking cop stationed outside her house?
I clenched my teeth. My gut boiled.
He was the reason everything had fallen apart.
If he hadn’t scared the shit out of Avery, she would have never ended up in my bed. Then Grady wouldn’t have caught us together. I would still have my job and Avery would still be dating somebody else who wasn’t me.
Isaac raised his head and blinked with bleary eyes in my direction. It took him a split second to focus, but when he realized he was looking at me, a smug smile tipped the corner of his mouth up.
The fucking bastard wasn’t even sorry for what he’d done—turning Avery’s life upside down.
I marched across the room and grabbed Isaac by the back of his shirt.
“What the fuck? Get off me!”
I hauled him out of his booth, dragging him out of the bar. Despite the meager number of customers scattered throughout the room during the early afternoon, no one made a move to interfere.
“It seems I wasn’t clear enough during our last meeting,” I said, shoving the door open.
Sunlight blasted me in the face. Isaac squirmed and kicked like a worm on a hook. He flailed in a desperate attempt to loosen my grip.
“Let me go! I’ll call the cops.”
When I reached my truck, I grabbed a coil of rope from the back. Looping it around Isaac’s wrists, I yanked it tight. He winced.
“Do I look like I give a shit about what the cops would do to me?”
I had nothing to lose. I’d gladly serve jail time if it meant keeping this creep away from Avery for good. I wrapped the other end of the rope around the trailer hitch on the back of my truck. Isaac’s eyes widened as he realized what I was doing.
“Wait, you can’t do this—”
“We play by a different set of rules around here,” I countered. “And you’re about to find out that pretty much anything goes. So, will you leave Avery alone?”
Isaac’s nostrils flared. He snorted.
“You must be the cowboy she was talking about on the phone.”
I said nothing.
“I’ll win her back,” he continued. “Avery belongs to me. She always has, and she always will.”
I jerked on the rope hard enough to bring Isaac to his knees. He hit the pavement with a yelp.
“Last chance,” I said. “Get the fuck out of this town and never look back. Or I’ll drag you to hell myself.”
Isaac spat on the ground, barely missing my boot by an inch.
“Piss off, cowboy.”
Without a word, I turned on my heel and climbed into my truck. Through the rear-view mirror, I watched a flicker of panic cross Isaac’s face. He tried to wiggle his way out of the rope, gnawing at it with his teeth.
I started my truck and gunned the engine.
“Are you crazy ?” Isaac shrieked.
I stepped on the gas. The truck lurched forward before I hit the brakes again. Isaac skidded on the pavement a few inches. I stuck my head out the window and glanced back.
“What do you say, asshole? Are we going for a spin around town?”
Isaac’s jaw worked, grinding his teeth. It must be eating him alive that I had the upper hand. I revved the engine to a deafening roar.
Isaac’s eyes widened with fear.
“Okay! Okay!”
He practically had to scream to be heard over the growl of my truck. Finally, I shut off the engine and got out, turning to face him.
Isaac sulked with a petulant tug at the rope binding his wrists.
“Let me go, all right? Are you happy now? I’ll leave. Tonight.”
I crossed my arms and didn’t budge, waiting for the part I needed to hear the most. He blew out a breath of frustration.
“And I won’t contact Avery anymore.”
“Swear it,” I said.
Isaac swallowed hard and glanced away. I pulled my door open, preparing to climb into my truck again.
“I swear!” Isaac said in a rush. “I swear…I won’t contact Avery.”
I came to stand over him and drew my pocket knife out, flicking the blade open. He gulped.
“If I hear that you lied to me,” I said. “If you have anything to do with Avery from this point forward, I will drag your ass up and down every goddamn road in this town until your skin is shredded clean off your bones. Got it?”
Isaac nodded, his mouth puckered into a nervous, tight line. I sawed the rope off his wrists and dismissed him with a hard, cold stare. He scrambled to his feet and hurried out of sight.