Chapter 16
Chapter Sixteen
RORY
“What is this place?” Zach asked from the passenger seat of my car as I turned onto the lane to my parents’ house.
The past two days had been interesting, to say the least. The first day at his new home, Zach had kept himself closed in the guest room I set up for him.
When I’d checked on him shortly after night had fallen, he was passed out cold.
But I noticed the lamp on the bedside table had been turned on.
I’d moved into the room, gentle pulling the covers up over his shoulders to tuck him in and, remembering what Cord had said about that punishment room, I made sure to leave the light burning when I crept back out.
Yesterday was pretty much the same, with the exception of me knocking on his door at breakfast, lunch, and dinnertime to tell him to come eat.
I’d attempted to engage him in conversation during all three meals, but got nothing but grunts or snarky, monosyllabic answers as response.
I’d taken Cord’s words to heart and refused to be offended.
As much as I’d love to wake up one morning and automatically have Zach’s trust, I knew it wasn’t going to be that easy.
I had a long road ahead of me, and I needed to brace for all the bumps along the way.
But today was going to be different than the past two days. As much as I wanted to allow him to stay in the comforts of his new room, where he hopefully felt safe, part of my job as the adult figure in his life was to teach. And today was all about teachable moments.
“This is my parents’ place,” I answered when their house came into view. “All this land between our house to here is part of their ranch. And there’s a whole lot more you haven’t seen yet.”
“So, the ranch is really big?”
My chest instantly swelled. It was the first time in two days he’d asked a question or showed interest in having a conversation with me. It was only a small step, but that didn’t mean it didn’t make me giddy, and I struggled not to let my smile swallow up my whole face.
“Oh yeah,” I answered, careful to keep my tone casual. “My dad comes from a long line of cattle rancher’s.”
“You mean like cows and stuff?”
“Yep. But we’ve also got horses and chickens and a couple goats.”
I caught the flash of excitement on his face before he quickly covered it. I came to a stop, and as I put the car into park, the screen door to the house squeaked open, and Cord and my dad stepped out onto the porch.
“So what are we doin’ here?” Zach asked, his shoulders tensing as he stared through the windshield at the two big men watching us.
“Zach, honey, will you look at me?” His head slowly swiveled around, his brown eyes guarded and blank as he looked at me.
“There’s a whole lot to this ranch, and all of it is absolutely beautiful.
I can’t wait to take you around and show you all of my favorite places, but unfortunately, today’s not gonna be about fun.
” His little body grew even more rigid, and the air around us began to crackle, but I pushed on.
“The other night, you threw a rock through the window of my bar, and while I understand what drove you to do it, it wasn’t right, and there are consequences to those actions.
” He locked up so tight I feared if I tried to touch him, he’d shatter, so I hurried to finish.
“So today as punishment, you’ll be helping Cord and my dad muck out horse stalls and check fence. ”
The shock on his face slammed into me like a wrecking ball. “I—what?”
I turned to face him fully, leaning in close.
“One thing I want you to understand right now is that I will never, ever take my hands to you. You and I won’t always get along.
There are times you’ll get mad at me, and I’m sure there’ll be times where I get mad at you, but what I will never do is raise my hands to you.
That’s not how I was brought up. Believe me, I pushed my parents when I was your age, and I did some things that made them screaming mad, but they never used their hands on me as punishment.
I know I have a long way to go in earning your trust, but you will always be safe with me.
” I paused for a moment and felt that the intensity filling my car had dissipated and Zach’s body was slowly starting to loosen before I went on.
“But the fact remains, you did something you shouldn’t have, so today you’ll be stuck shoveling horse poop. ”
He pulled the corner of his lips between his teeth and bit down, but I could see his eyes sparkle and knew it was his attempt to hide his grin. I didn’t bother trying, just let mine go and smiled big and bright.
“What’s… checkin’ fence mean?”
“Well, it means just what it sounds like. The three of you will ride horses along the fence lines to see if there are any spots that need to be fixed.”
Zach’s eyes bugged out. “I… I get to ride a horse?”
God, this kid just melted my heart. “Dad’ll put you on the back of one, and if he thinks you can handle it, then yeah, you’ll ride on your own. If not, you’ll be riding with him until we can teach you to handle one by yourself.”
I hadn’t thought it possible, but his eyes got even bigger. “You’ll teach me to ride a horse?”
“Oh, honey,” I said in a light, teasing tone. “That’s just part of the awesomeness that is ranch life. You’ll learn to ride horses, ATVs, snowmobiles in the winter. There’s so much here you’ll get to experience. But first…”
“Horse poop,” he finished for me.
“Yeah,” I said on a little giggle. “Horse poop.”
With that done, we climbed from the car.
As I rounded the hood, I noticed the calm that had slid over Zach just moments ago was gone, and as he looked up at my dad, the stiffness returned.
I wanted to go to him, to loop my arms over his shoulders and hold him close to me, but I didn’t think he’d appreciate that.
As if sensing his discomfort, my dad smoothed his features and hooked one corner of his mouth up in a friendly grin. “You eaten, son?”
“Uh… yeah,” Zach answered hesitantly. “Rory made blueberry pancakes.”
“That’s good,” Dad said. “My girl’s pancakes are the best you’ll ever have. Only ones better are her mama’s, and that’s ’cause she’s the one who taught my girl her way around the kitchen.” Man, I loved my dad. “So, you ready to get to work?”
Zach’s shoulder came up in a bored shrug as he gave my dad what I was coming to learn was his standard reply. “Whatever.”
Dad moved down the steps and waved Zach to him, and as I watched the two of them head off toward the big red barn, I felt Cord’s consuming presence grow closer.
I turned back to him as he headed my way, taking him in for the first time that morning.
The beautiful russet streaks in his dark hair shined in the sunlight and made the deep green of his eyes sparkle.
His tanned skin looked almost golden against the dark navy blue of his tee, and as I looked up at his sexy grin, a surge of arousal built low in my belly. God, this man was gorgeous.
“Hey,” I greeted when he finally reached my side, my voice coming out low and breathy.
“Dollface,” he returned in that rich, husky cadence of his that did indescribable things to my body. “How’s he doin’?”
“He’s… adjusting,” I answered tentatively. “Spends most of his time in his room, and I’m leaving him to it. I don’t want to push him too hard too soon.”
“You’ll break through, Rory. If anyone can, it’s you,” he said, his unwavering belief in me rocking me to my core.
“Thank you so much for being here this morning,” I said softly, remembering how my chest had warmed when I called him earlier to ask for his help. He hadn’t given my request a moment’s thought before agreeing.
“Don’t even mention it, baby,” he returned, the new and more frequent use of the word baby making my skin tingle. I knew I shouldn’t, but man, I loved hearing it. “I told you, we’re in this together.”
“I know, and I appreciate that more than you know. After you shared your story with him the other night, I think he’s comfortable around you.”
He looked to the barn where my dad and Zach had just disappeared, a shadow working across his face as he murmured, “I hope so.”
Moving closer, I reached up and placed a hand on his arm, drawing his attention back down to me. “You okay? I know this can’t be easy for you.”
The smile he gave me held a hint of sadness as he replied, “I’m good, honey.”
I could tell it was a lie, one I was willing to give him at that moment. I squeezed his arm and stepped even closer. “Hey, you know I’m here for you, right? If you ever need to talk about anything, I’m here.”
His head began to lower, and the air expelled from my lungs as his gaze grew heavy and intense.
For a second I thought he was about to kiss me, and my body screamed for it as I leaned into him and tipped my head farther back.
But at the last second, he changed course and pressed his lips to my forehead.
And as much as I tried to fight it, I couldn’t stop from feeling disappointed.
“I know,” he said gently, his lips brushing across my skin with those two words. Then he stood tall and took a step back, and I felt the loss of his touch like a physical thing. “I should get in there and help out.”
“Yeah,” I mumbled, trying not to let my discontent show. “Okay. See you later for lunch?”
“Wouldn’t miss it, baby.”
And with that, he headed off into the barn, leaving me confused by the warring emotions inside me and achy with want.
“Ow, shit!”
I’d been so stuck in my own head, I wasn’t paying proper attention to a single thing around me as I helped my mom prepare lunch, and the knife I’d been using to slice tomatoes slipped and cut my index finger right open.
“Rory Christine Hightower,” my mom scolded as she rushed over to me. “Told you time and again, girl, your head can’t be in the clouds when you’re wieldin’ a knife.”