CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
Danica
Mouse stood there like the patient, gray beauty that she was while Tom and I strapped the saddle onto her back.
She seemed to understand what was happening, and didn’t try to step away.
Tom only had bitless bridles, but I wouldn’t have wanted to use a bit anyway.
I climbed onto the middle rung of the fence so it was easier to swing my leg over Mouse’s back, and once I was up, I glanced over at Tom and grinned.
“You know how to ride?” he asked.
That made me laugh. “Shouldn’t you have asked me that before you convinced me to get up into the saddle?”
His left shoulder lifted.
“Sam and I have been maybe half a dozen times. It’s often what she wants to do for her birthday. So I book us a two-hour trail ride on the mainland. Nothing beyond a walk though.”
“Then do nothing beyond a walk.”
With nervous tingles racing down my arms, I gripped the reins and gave Mouse a gentle squeeze with my thighs while also clicking twice with my tongue.
“What do you think her comm—” Mouse started to move.
“Never mind.” I giggled as we started to mosey away from the fence and out into the grass.
Leaning forward, I gave her a pet. “Good girl, Mouse.”
We wandered around just in front of the barn for a bit, then as we grew more comfortable with each other, I took her further, up toward the road along the fence that lined the long driveway.
She required very little guidance or steering, and not even for a second did I feel unsafe on her, or like she might spook and sprint off into the woods.
After about thirty minutes, we made our way back toward Tom, Raven, and Midnight.
We were almost there when a cobalt-blue sedan pulled down onto the driveway and sped toward the house, way too fast for not only the roads, but a rural, one-lane gravel driveway.
I couldn’t even see who was driving, they were going so fast.
Tom ran from where he stood with Raven and Midnight toward the gate just as the sedan came to a skidding stop in front of his house.
The car door opened and slammed shut, and an angry Avelyn Whalley came storming toward Tom.
I quickly dismounted from Mouse, and while it took me a moment to walk properly after climbing off a horse, I caught up with him a moment later as Avelyn got right up in his face with a pointy acrylic finger.
“My son almost died,” she said, her face an angry mess of red cheeks and wild eyes. “We’re going to sue you. Have you seen his head? He could have brain damage.”
Oh, he definitely had brain damage, but it was probably from Avelyn repeatedly dropping Clyde on his head as a baby.
“Signora, your son trespassed on my property, entered my barn without invitation, and attempted to climb on top of a newborn foal. Any harm that came to him is of no fault of mine,” Tom said calmly, even though I could see his bunched fists and white knuckles as he covertly took a step back from the angry woman.
“I don’t care. My mother said your barn was open to the public. So it’s not Clyde’s fault. You should lock it if you don’t want people to go in. How was he to know?”
“Your mother is mistaken, signora. My barn—nor my property—are open to the public. So your son trespassed. Whether my barn was locked or not does not matter.”
“The hell is doesn’t. That horse could have killed him.
It should be killed. Both the mother and the baby.
I’m going to call animal control. You’re not going to get away with this.
” Her thick, fake eyelashes blinked a few times, making it look like a furry spider was attacking her face.
I was all for the fake lash girlies if it helped with their self-esteem.
But some women—Avelyn being one of them—took it too far.
“Signora,” Tom said, his tone still patient but a little less gentle than before, “I assure you, if your son stays away, he will not be harmed again.”
“Well, your donkey broke free and tried to harm us. Came right to our front door. For all I know, you’re training these animals to be violent. Is this some kind of animal fight club?”
I was unable to control the snort that burst free from my nose. “Even if it was, we couldn’t talk about it,” I said. “That’s the first rule.”
Tom’s mouth twitched as if he were trying hard not to smile.
Avelyn just fumed even more. I thought for sure steam was going to rise from her ears any second. “You two are pathetic. Just like your daughter is pathetic. She deserves what Clyde does to her. She’s soft, and stupid, and a freak.”
“Whoa, now,” I said, stepping in front of Tom and getting right up into Avelyn’s face.
“You can call me whatever the hell you want, lady. You can point your pink, harpy talons in my face, and mutter nonsense about animal fight clubs until you run out of breath. But don’t you dare say a fucking word about my daughter.
Your son is an undisciplined, rude, abomination of a child that would have been better off swallowed. ”
Her gasp was just more fuel for the rebuttal I’d been mentally compiling for the last week.
“You, your husband, and your parents are ruining him. He’s a menace to the island.
You’re a terrible parent and a terrible person, and if you don’t get the fuck off this property right now, I will call the police and we’ll tell them how your delinquent spawn trespassed on Tom’s land, broke into his barn, and attempted animal cruelty. ”
The longer I spoke, the wider Avelyn’s eyes grew. And the hotter my belly became. But I was on a roll, and even though my voice shook a little toward the end, I wasn’t going to stop.
“Is that a threat?” Avelyn asked, clenching her molars tight.
I scoffed. “Of course it was. Now get the fuck off Tom’s property, now.”
With flaring nostrils and a flip of her horrible auburn extensions, Avelyn Whalley spun on her Converse shoes and tossed her baby-pink sweatpants tracksuit behind the steering wheel.
She drove even faster back up the driveway, spinning her tires as she peeled away and sending gravel flying everywhere.
A few rocks pinged against Tom’s truck and probably chipped the paint.
Only when she was out of sight did I turn to Tom, the adrenaline of the moment leaving my body and causing it to shake.
“Wow,” he said, taking me by the shoulders and applying a bit of pressure. “You were … amazing, bella.”
I pulled a stuttered breath in through my mouth. “I’m worried I made things worse.”
He shook his head. “You didn’t. She did.”
His attention was pulled from my face by another vehicle making its way down the driveway. When I glanced over my shoulder, bracing for another toe-to-toe with Avelyn, I sighed in relief at the familiar delivery van.
“The cameras,” Tom said, releasing me and meeting the driver when he hopped out a second later.
I was still a trembling mess when the delivery driver drove off and Tom brought the box of cameras over. “Best get to work setting these up.”
“Would it be much of a problem for you to drive me home first?” I asked, suddenly desperate to just hug my child after the donnybrook I had just had with Avelyn.
He must have felt my need for a hug, and Tom set down the camera box and hauled me into his arms, giving my back an affectionate rub. “You defended your child. My animals, my land, and me. You are a force, Danica. A beautiful force.”
I didn’t feel like a force. I shook in his arms, but hugged him back. “I said some really mean things. I said her son should have been swallowed in a blowjob. That’s not me. I don’t speak like that.”
His body shook as he chuckled, still holding me. “It was certainly a surprise hearing it. But also hilarious. And entirely appropriate for the situation and the child.”
“I still feel icky about it all now. Not good. Not better. Not … invigorated or vindicated. I just feel … icky.”
He rubbed my back more. “Well, I thought you were brave. And hilarious. And you stood up for your kid, my animals, and me. To me, you’re a hero.”
I smiled against his chest, his heartbeat beneath my ear a calming, rhythmic presence that seemed to banish the negative thoughts with each steady lub-dub.
We stood there in his driveway, arms around each other for a while, until my nervous system had relaxed and I was no longer quivering from the adrenaline leaving my body.
“I will take you home, bella,” he said, releasing me. “I just need to remove the saddle from Mouse, put Midnight and Raven away, and lock up. Fifteen minutes?”
My head bobbed. “Sure.”
Together, we headed back to the field and were almost through our to-do list when his phone rang in his back pocket.
Tom’s nose wrinkled in a cute way when he glanced at the number. Then his eyes lit up. “The lawyer,” he said.
I finished brushing Mouse, who was now happily eating hay in her stall, and met him in front of Midnight and Raven’s stall.
“Hello?” he answered while at the same time double-checking that the stall was locked. Then we made our way to the door.
“Mr. Barone,” said a female voice. “It’s Michelle Price. How are you today, sir?”
“Okay,” Tom said, having put the phone on speaker. We double-checked that the barn door and the house were locked. “What have you found out for me?”
“Well, I’ve been working with Jake Jimenez, your estates and will attorney. Together, we thought it was a good idea to hire a private investigator to look into Mr. Corcan’s finances a bit. And well … there’s a reason he wants your land.”
“Mm-hmm,” Tom said, obviously not surprised.
“He’s in a significant amount of debt. He invested heavily in a Ponzi scheme. He leveraged all his equity and owes a lot of money. Like the man doesn’t have a pot to piss in. And there are loan sharks after him. How he’s affording the lawyer he has right now …”
“His mother,” Tom said, still unfazed.
“But he couldn’t turn around and sell the land,” I said. “That’s against island law.”
“Uh …” Michelle said.
“This is Danica St. Claire,” Tom said. “She is my …” He glanced at me quickly, a little panic in his eyes.
“A friend,” I finished, giving Tom’s hand a squeeze.
“A good friend,” Tom added. “And she can hear what you have to say. Her cousin is Gabrielle.”
“Ooh,” Michelle said, clearly relieved. “Gotcha. Hi, Danica.”
“Hi.”
“Anyway, even though it is island law that he couldn’t sell it, they very well could have other money-making plans.
Put a bunch of prefab homes on it and rent them out.
Turn the property into campsites. Or, since you have the full set up for livestock, he could turn it into luxury horse boarding while living on the land himself.
I don’t know the intricacies of his plans, but we now know that he’s desperate. ”
Tom and I exchanged looks.
“Desperate people are scary,” I said softly.
“Bingo,” Michelle replied. “We’ve already contacted local authorities and are drafting a restraining order. Everything will be done through lawyers. He should not be setting foot on the property.”
“We’ve spoken with islanders, and they don’t want to see Vincent or his mother, Millicent, get the land or live on the island. Apparently, Millicent is not well-liked,” I added. “We have the islanders behind us. Including the Elders Council.”
“That’s good. That was smart of you guys to rally them to your cause.
Testimonials may be needed, depending on how this goes.
But as far as Jake and I can tell, Vincent doesn’t really have much of a legal leg to stand on.
However, that’s not going to stop him from trying.
And I wouldn’t be surprised if he tried to do something stupid. So just … be vigilant.”
“Security cameras just arrived,” Tom said. “I will install them today.”
“Good. That’s good. The investigator is going to do some more digging, and we’ll let you know if he finds anything else. You’re okay continuing with that, Mr. Barone? Cost-wise, I mean?”
“Si,” Tom said. “Money is no object. I just want my son’s land and the animals safe.”
“Got it, sir. I’ll be in touch.”
Then she disconnected the call.
Tom’s expression was grim as he faced me, and I was sure mine was similar.
Just because Vincent Corcan didn’t have a legal leg to stand on, didn’t mean he wouldn’t try to leverage Tom off the land another way.
He’d already threatened to burn the barn down.
And now that we knew the man was desperate and without two nickels to rub together, who knew what he’d try.
This time it was my turn to comfort Tom, and I wrapped my arm around his broad back. “We’ll figure it out. Set up the cameras and have faith in the lawyers. You’ve got the island on your side now. And the island takes care of its people.”
He leaned back a little, and I glanced up at him. “I don’t want to let you go,” he said softly, his throat moving on a hard swallow.
What did that mean?
My brows bunched, and I was about to ask what he meant, but he must have seen the confusion on my face, and a small smile curled his lips. “I just mean, I will miss you when I take you home.”
Oh.
That made me smile, and heat filled my cheeks, probably making them pink. “I’ll miss you too.”
“Come back over tomorrow. Once Sam is in school. If you can get away from work for a bit.”
Nibbling on my bottom lip, I tightened my hold around his torso. “So I can ride Mouse again?”
He blinked down at me. “No, bella. So you can ride me again.”
Well, that, of course, landed us back in his bedroom for another forty minutes and round two.
But by the time I got home later that afternoon, I was in the best mood of my life, with a pleasant throb between my thighs and a permanent grin on my face.
It was still early, but Tommaso Barone was doing a damn fine job of making me fall in love with him.
But even though I couldn’t stop smiling, that niggling feeling in the back of my mind was still there.
I’d never been in love before; Tom had. Maybe I felt things stronger because this was all new to me and I was mistaking lust for love.
His heart did at one point belong to another woman.
And probably still did—to a degree. A woman he lost tragically.
Would he ever be able to love another? Or was I falling for a man who would never be able to love me the way I loved him? Or love me at all?