CH 21 - #mine
#mine
Luke
Song: “Man To Man” by Gary Allan
“Are you spending the night with me?” I asked Madison after I put Casper back in his stall.
“Of course I am. It’s my last night of total freedom since Ty is bringing Bella back tomorrow. I don’t mean that in a negative way.”
“I didn’t take it as such. We, adults, need our adult time. What time will Bella be back?”
“Ty told me a little after lunch. He’s got that long drive back to Dallas, not that I feel sorry for him because I don’t.”
“Is he still involved with that woman he was having an affair with?”
“No, he ended things with her after I confronted him with evidence in hand about his fucking around on me.”
“Has he dated anybody since you divorced him?”
Madison shook her head. “Believe it or not, he’s begged me several times to get back together with him. Said he would do whatever it took. There isn’t enough he could do that would ever make me give him a second chance. Once I lose trust in someone, that’s it for me.”
“I understand. I’m the same way about trust. Are you ready to get your overnight bag from the ranch house?”
“I am. While I’m packing it, you can visit with my mom and dad.”
“I’d be glad to. I was skeptical of them when they first looked into buying the ranch, but I quickly realized they’re great folks. If anyone was going to take over this place, I wanted it to be them. Hayden did too.”
“What is his story? Married before?”
“Nope. He’s been dating a woman named Angela on and off for a couple of years. They stay in a cycle of breaking up and getting back together. I told him not too long ago that he should find a woman better suited for him.”
“What was his response?”
“That I should find one for myself.”
“Which woman were you seeing?”
I cleared my throat. “Remember my mentioning Sierra?”
“I do.”
“Before you came along, she and I used to get together now and then.”
“For a hookup?”
“Yep.”
“When was the last time you two did that?”
“The day my family’s attorney read my dad’s will to my mom, brother, and me. I needed the release.”
“Now you have me for that.”
“We’re not just a hookup, though, Madison. You know how strongly I feel toward you.”
“My feelings toward you are scaring me again.”
“Why?”
“Because I know how much I’d be hurt if all of this between us goes south.”
“It’s not going to, if I can help it, baby.”
“You keep calling me that.”
“Do you mind?”
“Nope, I’m just getting used to it. I know it’s a term of endearment.”
“It is. I feel like you’re mine—my baby—in a sense already. Sorry if that’s premature on my part.”
“It isn’t because, in a sense, I already feel like you’re mine too.”
“I am yours.”
“Thank you for this wonderful day. I loved riding Casper. I loved our picnic. I really loved riding you.”
“I really loved you riding me too. The way you move your body is…” I blew out a long breath, remembering how Madison looked and felt.
“I’m getting turned on from talking about this.”
“I’m right there with you.”
“Let’s go to the ranch house so I can get my overnight bag, then I’m riding you again at your cabin.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
THE NEXT DAY
“What do you think they’re arguing about?” Hayden asked me.
He, the new cowhand, Justin, and I were by the corral, watching Madison and Ty standing next to his car parked in front of the ranch house.
“My guess is Bella. Something must have happened while the jackass had her this weekend, so Madison is ripping him a new one.”
“How old is her daughter?” Justin asked. He was of my stature and build, with black hair and blue eyes, and was great at working with cattle.
“She’s almost five.”
“From what I could tell from way over here, she looks just like her mother.”
“Identical. Acts like her, too, which I love. She’s a little spitfire. I’m glad she’s inside the ranch house with her grandparents right now instead of witnessing what’s happening between Madison and her ex.”
Just then, Ty stepped closer to her and pointed at her face. She slapped his finger away. He pointed at her face again and yelled, “You’re such a bitch!” That was it for me. I started walking straight toward him and Madison.
“Where are you going?” Hayden hollered at me.
“To handle that bastard.”
“Luke, don’t kill him.”
I didn’t say anything else. I just kept walking at a fast pace, keeping my eyes on Ty. He was nearly nose-to-nose with Madison. To no surprise, she wasn’t backing down from him, but she shouldn’t have had to be dealing with his poor treatment of her.
When I neared them, they looked in my direction. I pointed my finger at Ty and said, “Get the hell away from Madison.”
He snapped his head back, frowning. “Who do you think you are to tell me to do anything?”
I reached him and pushed him away from Madison, making him stumble backward. “I’m your worst nightmare. Get in your car and leave this ranch.”
“Fuck you, man!”
I pushed him once more, steadily walking toward him to do it again, when a rope encircled me and pulled me backward. Hayden had lassoed me.
“Damn it!” I yelled, looking over my shoulder at him while trying to get his rope off me.
“Luke, stop. He isn’t worth it.”
Finally free of his rope, I went straight over to Ty, standing several yards away, his hands fisted at his sides.
“Get in your prick car now. If you ever come back here again and treat Madison the way I witnessed you treat her, I’m whipping your sorry ass all over the place,” I growled, my teeth clenched.
Ty studied my eyes. “You and Madison are fucking each other. That’s what this is about.”
“You know nothing about us.”
“No, I see this situation for what it is. You’re standing in the way of me trying to get Madison to come to her senses and get back together with me.”
I laughed sarcastically. “You’re delusional to think she ever would after you had an affair on her and also the way you just talked to her, calling her a bitch.”
“She can be a major one. You obviously haven’t witnessed that side of her yet.”
“Because I don’t treat her disrespectfully, unlike you.”
Hayden and Justin came to stand on either side of me.
“I’m going to count to three. If you aren’t heading back to your car by the time I finish, you’re going to regret it,” I said, staring hard at Ty.
He looked at Hayden and Justin, then back at me.
I started counting. By two, Ty was hurrying to his car like the pussy I knew he was.
I followed him from a distance, keeping my eyes on him.
He shook his head at Madison, standing back with her arms folded across her chest, and a furious look on her face.
As Ty was backing up, I walked by his driver’s side window and stared him down, coming to a stop beside Madison. She, Hayden, Justin, and I watched the idiot peel off, his tires screeching on the driveway.
“What were you and Ty arguing about?” I asked, facing Madison.
“What he didn’t do with Bella this weekend.”
‘What do you mean?”
“He kept her in his hotel room the whole time, feeding her junk food while she watched TV, and he played on his cellphone.”
“How do you know that happened?”
“Bella. After she came inside the ranch house, I asked her if she had fun with her daddy. She told me no, then explained why, and started crying. I left her with my parents and hurried to catch Ty before he left, because I wanted him to explain why he did what he did. He started making excuses for himself. I called him a joke of a father.”
“Is that when he called you a bitch?”
“Yep.”
“I hate that you just went through all of that with him.”
“It’s nothing unusual.”
“It doesn’t make it right. Seeing how aggressive he was toward you, the thought came to me that he’s been that way on other occasions.”
“He has.”
“Has he ever put his hands on you, Madison?”
“He’s grabbed me by my shoulders a few times.”
I shook my head, angry, adrenaline surging through me. “I wish I’d known that before he left because he would’ve gone back to Dallas with his face busted up.”
“I understand you wanting to do that, but if you had, Ty would’ve filed assault charges against you.”
“Wouldn’t do him any good out here.”
“Why is that?”
“The sheriff is my uncle, my mom’s brother. He handles things the old school way, like we all do around these parts.” I looked over my shoulder at Hayden and Justin standing a little way behind me. “Y’all can go now. I appreciate you backing me up.”
They nodded and walked toward the bunkhouse. I turned to Madison.
“I need to go check on Bella,” she said.
“Alright. I wish I could check on her too.”
“You can.”
She reached for my hand, and then we went into the ranch house’s living room, where Mr. and Mrs. Livingston and Bella were hanging out. The second Bella saw me, she smiled and ran to me. I picked her up and held her on my hip.
“Hi, little angel,” I said.
“Can you be my daddy? I have a bad one.”
I looked at Madison standing beside me and at her parents in their recliners, and focused on Bella again. “I wish I could, but I can’t. I’ll always be your friend, though.”
Her green eyes welled up, and her chin quivered, breaking my damn heart. Seconds later, she started crying. I held her closer with my hand on the back of her tiny head as she rested it on my chest. I looked at Madison and her parents again. We were all choked up.
“How would you like to take a ride on Casper with me?” I asked Bella, hoping to make her feel better about everything.
She lifted her head and nodded.
“Are you okay with that, Madison?”
“You know I am.”