Chapter 36
Chapter thirty-six
Abigail
Istep out onto the porch and immediately squint into the afternoon light—the brim of my hat doing little to hide it.
The absurdly long gravel driveway stretches in front of me, pale and dusty beneath the sun. The barn stands to my left, doors thrown open, the soft sounds of the few animals still lingering inside drifting through the warm air.
My eyes move to the upstairs window, hoping to see a glimpse of Lincoln, but I’m not surprised when I don’t. He’s been buried in a stack of paperwork at his desk for most of the morning.
Farther out across the ranch, a faint metallic clang echoes in the breeze.
Beau, Lawson, and Jasper.
They rode out about an hour ago to move a couple of the bottle-fed calves back into the pasture and to check on the rest of the babies and their mamas. I can’t see them from here, but every so often, the deep timbre of one of their voices shouting across the pasture carries across the hills.
I walk slowly down the porch steps, one hand resting automatically over the gentle curve of my stomach. “Alright,” I murmur to the little life growing inside of me. “Time for a quick walk.”
The further my pregnancy progresses, the less and less I seem to be needed for any sort of work around here. Which is convenient considering it’s spring and it’s considered one of the busier times of year on a cattle ranch.
When I brought it up to Lawson a couple of weeks ago, he just shrugged and said, “Just haven’t been as busy lately, I guess.” He then proceeded to usher me onto the front porch of the house before parking my butt in a rocking chair and getting me a glass of water.
I should be annoyed, but it was honestly really endearing.
Be that as it may, with less “work” for me to do and not being able to ride Griff, I’ve been making it a point to take walks down the driveway at least once a day—especially with it being so nice out.
The gravel crunches beneath my boots as I take a couple of steps, but then I stop.
Something’s wrong.
The feeling comes first, followed by a subtle shift in the air that prickles along the back of my neck.
My eyes sweep across the yard.
The trucks and my car are parked where they should be.
The equipment shed is closed.
Nothing looks out of place except—
My gaze drifts toward something alongside the barn.
At first, my brain refuses to understand what I’m seeing. Something is lying in the dirt. Something big.
My stomach drops as I take a few steps closer, squinting.
A tarp does its best to cover whatever it is, but it must have shifted in the wind.
Two stiff hooves stick out from beneath the edge of the canvas.
My heart lurches.
It’s a cow.
A dead one.
The tarp is pulled halfway across its body, but the dirt around it is dark and damp.
There are drag marks across the gravel leading from the pasture toward where it lies.
My pulse spikes. “What the—”
Why is there a dead cow next to the barn?
What the hell happened?
My head spins as my brain registers the absence of a familiar sound.
“Lucy?” I yell.
Nothing.
Lawson said earlier that she was staying close to the house today since they didn’t want to stress out the bottle calves while introducing them to the rest of the herd. And yet, I don’t hear her anywhere.
She’s never quiet, and I can almost never be out here without her at my feet if she’s not working.
“Lucy!” I call louder. Not a sound. “Lucy girl!” I let out a whistle. “Come!”
The dead cow sits beside the barn like proof that something terrible has happened.
What if Grayson came?
What if Keller was desperate enough to send him and Victor here in the middle of the day?
My breathing starts coming faster as I spin in circles in the middle of the driveway, scanning the house, the barn, the open pasture.
“Lucy!” My voice cracks this time as her name comes out as almost a broken-sob.
Still no bark.
Still nothing.
My chest tightens painfully. No. Not again. Air rushes in and out of my lungs in quick, shallow bursts. The gravel shifts under my boots as panic claws up my throat.
What if they’re here somewhere?
What if they hurt someone?
What if—
I bend forward suddenly, hands braced on my knees. “Lu—”
Her name won’t come out anymore.
My lungs feel too small.
My head spins.
Shit. This feels just like when Beau broke that damn mug when I first moved here. I’m having a panic attack.
Footsteps suddenly thunder from inside the barn. “Abbie!”
Lincoln bursts through the open barn doors and across the driveway at a full sprint.
Lucy is right on his heels.
The sight of her barely registers through the haze of panic squeezing my chest.
Lincoln skids to a stop in front of me and drops down immediately, his hands gripping my arms. “Hey—hey—what’s wrong?”
I try to answer. I really do. But nothing comes out.
“Sweetheart, talk to me.” The panic in his voice is evident, but I just shake my head as I gasp for breath.
His eyes drop to my stomach. “Is it the baby?”
I shake my head quickly, eyes wide.
Lifting my hand weakly, I point toward the barn. Toward the dead cow.
Lincoln glances over his shoulder, and the second he sees it, his expression changes. “Shit.” Despite the regret in that single word, relief floods his face.
His hand slides to my back, rubbing firm circles between my shoulder blades.
“Abbie. Sweetheart… you need to breathe.”
Lucy presses against my leg, whining softly. “Luce. I didn’t—I saw the cow—and I didn’t—she wasn’t answering—I thought…”
“She was upstairs with me,” he clarifies. “Started barking the second you started yelling.”
I blink at him, trying to drag air into my lungs. “The… the cow,” I gasp.
Lincoln looks back at it. “Lawson and Beau saw birds circling this morning. Knew right away what it was. Found her out in the north pasture. Looks like wolves got to her sometime overnight.” My brain does its best to keep up with his words as I continue gasping for air.
“They dragged her back so Fish and Wildlife can come take a look. They’ll confirm it before we file the report.
Lucy wouldn’t leave her alone, so I brought her up to the office. ”
Another shaky breath drags into my lungs.
Then another.
The crushing grip around my chest slowly begins to loosen.
“I didn’t know,” I whisper hoarsely.
Lincoln’s hand keeps moving steadily across my back. “One of us was supposed to tell you. I guess everyone just assumed someone else did. I’m sorry, Sweetheart.”
I’m still bent over in the driveway, Lincoln’s hand rubbing along my spine, when the thunder of hooves suddenly rolls across the yard.
I look up in time just to see Beau jumping off Duke before he even fully stops. “What happened?” he demands, rushing toward us, a murderous expression on his face.
Lawson and Jasper are right behind him. Their eyes lock onto me immediately.
“What happened?” Lawson snarls.
Panic covers Jasper’s face. “Is she okay? Is the baby okay?”
Jasper drops to a squat beside me, one hand wrapping around my calf. “You okay, Red?”
Beau crouches directly in front of me, scanning my body for injuries. “Tell me what happened so I can fix it.”
Lincoln lifts a calming hand. “Everyone, relax. She’s okay. Just got a little scared.”
Beau’s brows knit together. “Scared by what?”
Lincoln gestures toward the tarp-covered cow.
Understanding dawns across their faces almost instantly.
Lawson exhales. “I thought you told her?” he asks Jas.
“I thought he did.” He nods at Beau.
“I thought—never mind. It doesn’t fucking matter.” Beau hooks his finger beneath my chin. “Look at me, Abbie. Remember what Jas and I told you. Look at me and breathe.”
Lifting my head, I look between him and Jasper.
“Such a good girl,” Jasper says softly. “Everything’s okay.”
“You’re safe.” Beau drags his thumb along my jaw.
Eventually, everything around me finally refocuses, and my lungs manage to fill with air. I straighten slowly, still shaky.
“I thought…” My voice trembles a little. “I thought someone came.”
The four of them exchange a quick look before Beau reaches up and cups the side of my face. “No one’s getting anywhere near you.”
Lincoln shifts next to Jasper and bends down to kiss the side of my head—his hand still anchored on my back. He looks to his brother, jaw tight. “We have to end this. She should never be this afraid again.”
Lawson’s eyes lock onto mine, and I see the fear there. Even though there was nothing wrong, the sound of my screams was enough to terrify him. To terrify them all. This has to be over. I know it. He knows it. They all know it.
Lawson nods once. Eyes never leaving mine as he says, “I’ll make the call.”
The next morning—less than twenty-four hours later—there’s a knock at the front door.
I barely stir at first. I’m curled up on the couch beneath Beau’s arm, wrapped in a soft blanket, enjoying my one cup of coffee while he hums softly in my ear as he writes in the notebook I got him for Christmas.
Lincoln is sitting on the floor in front of me, rubbing soft circles on the inside of my leg, and Lawson is leaning against the wall near the front window—a small smile pulling at his lips.
Jasper eagerly moves toward the door first. “I’ll get it.”
Lawson straightens, and Lincoln rises from the floor, not rushing—but coiled with anticipation nevertheless.
Beau presses a kiss to the top of my head as I look around the room. “It’s alright.”
The next second, Jasper pulls the door open, and a familiar voice echoes through the house. “Jas!”
I bolt upright so fast the blanket falls straight to the floor, and Beau chuckles.
My heart nearly jumps out of my chest as I spot the woman standing in the doorway. “Joe?”
I’m already off the couch before my brain fully catches up with my feet.
Josephine Jenkins is standing in the doorway.
Actually, not just Joe.
Behind her stands Dante, Enzo, Luca, and Sebastian. Each of them is holding a duffel in their hands, with Seb dragging a massive hard-shell suitcase behind him as well.
For a moment, I can only stare.
Because, based on what Jasper has told me, Josephine hasn’t come back to Montana in years.
Not since the night that changed her and Jasper forever.
Staying was how Jasper healed, but leaving is how she did.
And yet, here she is, standing in the doorway of Willow Creek Ranch.
For Jasper.
For me.
My eyes burn as she sidesteps her brother’s outstretched arms and makes her way toward me. “Oh my god. What are you doing here?”
She drops her bag and pulls me straight into a hug.
A real hug from a friend I almost forgot I had.
When she pulls back, her hands immediately land on my stomach, her eyes widening dramatically. “Look at you!”
My cheeks heat.
“God, Montana looks good on you,” she adds with a wink.
I blush harder, glancing down at my belly.
Joe laughs softly before cupping my face between her hands, tilting my head back up to look at her.
Her expression softens. It looks so much like Jasper’s.
“No,” she says gently, tapping her finger against my temple.
“I meant what’s in here.” Then she presses her hand lightly over my chest. “And here.”
I smile widely at her. “How are you here?” I ask again.
Behind us, the men have started the slightly awkward process of introducing themselves.
Once they’ve said their hellos, Dante and Enzo both wander over toward me. Each presses a quick kiss to the top of my head.
“This one,” Joe says, jerking her thumb toward Lawson, “told us they needed to take care of some things. Figured it’d be easier to help from here.”
My brows lift, and I cross my arms. “You mean babysit me?”
Joe scrunches her nose. “Potato, potahto.”
I narrow my eyes, and Beau speaks first. “I mean, technically there is a baby involved, so…”
Luca steps forward and presses a light kiss to my cheek. “Good to see you again, Abigail.”
Sebastian follows right behind him, doing the same. “Congratulations, by the way. This one hasn’t stopped talking about our new niece or nephew. Isn’t that right, Love?”
“Sue me, I’m a little excited.”
By the time everyone says their hellos and takes a step back, the room has rearranged itself all on its own.
Dante, Luca, Sebastian, and Enzo behind Joe.
Lincoln, Lawson, Beau, and Jasper behind me.
Joe looks between all of us for a moment, her eyes lingering on the five of us longer than they do the men behind her, and something soft flickers across her expression.
She looks at her brother, whose hold on my waist tightens just a little, and back to me.
Her eyes shining with unshed tears. Then, she claps her hands loudly.
“Alright. As cute as this little family moment is, we all have shit to do.” Her hands land on her hips as she looks around at all of us. Still not moving. “So let’s get to it!”
Enzo laughs. “Crazy-ass woman,” he says before kissing her on the cheek.
Dante chuckles on the other side of her and leans down to murmur something in her ear. I can’t make out most of it. Just the last word. “…Mama.”
Joe bites her bottom lip.
Jasper’s face scrunches in disgust. “Fucking gross.”
I grin over at him. “Hmmm,” I say thoughtfully. “I kinda like that.”
Jasper’s expression changes instantly. “What? The Mama thing?” I nod, and his brows raise. “Oh really?” he asks slowly.
Joe immediately points a finger at him. “Don’t even think about it. You ruin that for me, and I’ll kill you.”
Jasper looks to Dante for help, and he just shrugs. “She really will.”
The room bursts into laughter, and for a moment, everything feels warm.
Loud.
Alive.
As I stand there watching them all—watching the way the men begin talking strategy quietly while Joe drifts toward the kitchen like she’s already lived here for years—I wait for the sense of panic to come.
But it doesn’t.
I don’t know exactly what’s going on.
But I know my boys.
I know the looks they shared yesterday.
I know the quiet determination in Lincoln’s voice.
The promise in Lawson’s eyes.
Something is about to happen. Something big. Something final.
I also know that I trust them.
I trust that when the time comes, they’ll tell me what I need to know.
I trust that whatever they’re about to do, they’ll come back to me.
That what they’re going to do will finally bring us all peace.