Chapter Thirty-seven
Silas is gone before I make it out of bed. I must have fallen asleep around four, clinging to the hope he’ll come and hold me, but he didn’t. I heard him moving through the house, hovering at the door, and I know what I said was the cause.
I should never have said that I should have left. We both have our demons. They haunt us every single day. I don’t blame him for not coming, just like he won’t blame me for saying it in the moment.
Brewing a coffee, I take it to the window to look out on the fields opposite Silas’s house, seeing both the horses that were here before and the newcomers, all grazing together. Despite Cal getting to me yesterday, he still didn’t win.
We did.
I’m still here.
Cradling my cup, I take a sip, letting those thoughts soothe me.
We will be okay.
This is just a bump.
Before I turn away, I notice two of Silas’s employees hanging around at the bottom of the drive, pretending to check something, but I see them glancing at the house. Silas may not be here, but he didn’t leave me alone. I hate the fact that I need it, but it warms me through, nonetheless.
Once I’ve finished my coffee, I get ready for the day.
A lot of the horses that came in yesterday need a good groom and some love, and that I can do.
I can keep busy and fall right back into Silas when the day is over.
I can promise him over and over, I won’t leave, prove to him that those three words mean something. They mean everything.
Pulling on some denim shorts and a cami, I keep my hair in the braid I slept in, just tidy it up a little and then grab my hat off the hook to shield myself from the brutal sun. I’ll be busy all day, which is exactly what I need.
“Hey!” Ada smiles widely at me, totally unaware of my inner turmoil. I push it down, keep it at bay, and match her smile.
“Has anyone ever told you how hot you are?” I laugh, taking in her skintight shorts and homemade cropped tee. It’s got the ranch logo on the front, but I’m certain it wasn’t issued the way she’s wearing it.
“A time or two,” she winks, flicking her hair with a grin.
I laugh, “Did you need something?”
“Checking if you did actually,” she puts her hands on her hips, “a lot of new faces round here.” She looks at each of the new horses in their stables, dark eyes staring back.
“They’re from my old ranch,” I let the sorrow wash over me and then brush it away.
“Figured. They’re in good hands now. So, what are we doing?”
“Love and grooming.”
“Sounds great, you start that end,” she swings her thumb over her shoulder, “I’ll start the other end. Plan?”
“Got it,” I agree.
“Then later, we can go for cocktails cause damn, I’ve been around way too much testosterone lately and I need a girls’ night.”
For a moment, I want to decline. With the threat of Cal and everything that happened last night, I’m not sure it’s wise to leave the ranch, but then if I do that, he is still controlling me.
“That’s a plan,” I agree, pushing away the trepidation.
We both get to work, spending time with each horse to thoroughly give them a good grooming. The day passes quickly, and by the time we meet in the middle, we’re both sweaty messes, but the horses are clean, their coats shiny and like new again.
Ada grabs her wild red hair and pulls it on top of her head to allow air to hit the back of her neck. “Shower. Then cocktails.”
“Meet me at the house?” I say, ready to turn and leave, but behind Ada, Darcy comes sprinting into the stables, her eyes wide and fear on her face.
“Juni,” she rushes out.
“Darcy?” Dread sinks into my stomach. “What is it?”
She breathes heavily. “We’ve got an issue with one of the horses. Silas is there now, but he’s asked me to find you. Are you able to grab the kids?”
“Of course! What happened?”
“Looks like colic,” Darcy shakes her head and speed-walks with me back toward the house so I can grab the keys to the truck and go pick up Rosie and Caleb. “He’s walking her now, but it isn’t looking good.”
“Which horse?”
“Loni.”
I pause for a minute, grief turning my stomach. “I’ll get them.” I assure her, “Can you let him know I’ll be there when I get back?”
“Of course!” She nods quickly, stopping by the truck.
I expect her to be gone by the time I get back out of the house with the keys, but she’s lingering by the driver’s door.
Something in her posture has changed. She swings her head left and right, scanning her surroundings before she meets my eyes again.
But there’s nothing there. No emotion. It’s just flat.
Gone is the fear and the worry and the care. It’s just empty.
“Darcy?” I pause in front of her.
“You should have left.” She spits before she lunges forward. Something stabs into my arm; the bite of pain making me hiss through my teeth, and when I look, I see the syringe and needle embedded in my skin.
“What are you doing!?” I gasp, shoving her away, but a fog comes over my mind, clouding up my vision. I shake my head but feel myself fall to the left, my shoulder thumping into the door.
“You should have left, Juniper,” she reaches for me, and though I try to fight her off, my moves are sluggish, limbs heavy.
Shadows form at the edges of my vision, closing in too quickly to fight them.
“Now I have to do all the fucking work,” Darcy growls close to my ear, her voice sounding as if she is speaking from behind a pillow. I can’t keep up. Darcy? Why is she doing this? What is happening?
I can’t feel anything. No emotion, my hands and feet are tingling, body too heavy to keep up.
She drugged me.
She grasps my face, fingers digging into my cheeks. It should hurt, but it doesn’t. I don’t feel anything.
“Now you need to fix all the shit you fucked up for me. You hear me, Juniper?”
My mouth moves, but no words come out.
She grabs me when I fall, dragging me up, and then the shutters come down and I plunge into the darkness.