28. Ranger
Chapter 28
Ranger
“I think she’s good for you,” Callie Rose said as she lifted a box filled with carrots and stacked it into the wagon. Before shutting the truck door, she lifted the final box of beets from the seat.
“Yeah?” I grabbed the handle on the wagon and we walked to where her farmer’s market tent was waiting.
Last night had been incredible. Showing Sarah the field where my mother took me as a kid, seeing her become so free on the land that had been passed down through generations in my family. Watching her with awe as she came undone from the pleasure I brought her. Fuck, I could still taste her on my tongue. I wanted more of her. More of how she made me feel like my life was finally worth living again. She chased away my fears like a star shining in the depthless night.
There was no more falling for her. I’d fallen already. Straight off the side of the cliff, headfirst.
Callie Rose’s coat rustled against the small crate of beets she carried as I guided us along the park sidewalk, toward her tent.
“I knew that things would be different when you got out. I can’t even begin to imagine how prison changes a person, but I was hopeful that you would find your way back to us—to Miles and me.”
“You felt like I wasn’t here?” I shot her a sidelong glance. Her eyes were leaden with worry as she looked at me.
“Not really, no. I saw you trying. Every day I knew you were giving us your best shot of trying to keep things light and normal. When you told me about the nightmares for the first time, I knew things were different. I told Miles I wasn’t confident that we’d ever get you back. Not fully anyway.”
My stomach coiled in a knot as guilt washed over me. “I never wanted you to feel bad, Cal. That was the furthest thing I’d ever want you to feel. I just…” I took in a deep breath, trying to get my thoughts straight. “When I was inside, I had this whole plan of what I was going to do with my life when I was released. I wanted to make the ranch better. Get our family out of transgenerational poverty. Help you in whatever way I could so you had a chance to live a great life. I never wanted to leave you. But when I got out… fuck . I was so damn scared of going back in that all the plans I’d made were dust in the wind.”
Callie Rose stopped walking. The wagon creaked as I slid it to a stop and turned to face her. “You don’t have to go back there, Ranger. Not ever. And we were okay. Miles and me. We made it work. Of course we would have wanted you to be here with us, but you don’t need to feel bad about it anymore.”
I hugged her. “I don’t know when things shifted. When you became the one to give your big brother advice. But I’m thankful for it.” She leaned into the side hug, careful not to drop the crate of beets.
“I’ve always been pretty awesome.” Her voice was lighter, laced with humor. I bopped her nose with my finger. She tried to swat my hand away with the crate of beets and failed.
We started walking again as she said, “I was serious though. About thinking Sarah is good for you. I was worried when you first told me you were dating a blue blood, but she’s different from what I thought.”
Her acceptance of Sarah meant more to me than I could express. It wouldn’t matter how deeply I felt for someone. If they weren’t a good fit for my family, it wouldn’t work. “I have to admit that she’s different from what I thought too. I guess that’s our own prejudice at work. Making assumptions about people just at first glance without really getting to know them.”
“Yeah,” she responded.
“I’m really glad that you like her though. It certainly makes my life a lot easier.”
She smirked. “That’s me. The best sister in the world, making dreams come true.”
I flicked her on the nose. “Hey!” she shrieked, wringing a laugh from me .
It didn’t take us long to set up the booth. We worked in tandem, organizing all the vegetables for patrons to easily access them. She set up her iPad in the center of the foldable table so she could take payments. We settled into the chairs I’d brought from my truck as the townsfolk started filing into the park.
I’d planned to help my sister for most of the morning before heading to the opposite side of the park where Sarah’s booth was set up. Just as I was about to text her to see how things were going at her booth, two men strolled up to my sister’s tent.
Blood roiled through my veins at the sight of LeRoy Cummings. The fucking bastard who had sued me for assaulting him after he’d ganged up on a college freshman with two other douchebags. His dark eyes landed on me, recognition gleaming.
“Look who we have here.” He smacked his friend’s chest with the back of his hand to get his attention.
Callie Rose went still beside me. I didn’t have to look at her to know that hatred thrummed in her veins as much as it did in mine. He’d stolen ten years from us. From my fucking family. From my life .
Now, he was right in front of me. Smirking just like he’d been that day in the courtroom when the judge announced my sentencing. Ten years of my life had been stolen away while this jackass had walked free because the kid he’d beaten to a bloody pulp didn’t have the courage to press charges. Not that I blamed him. They’d beaten him so badly he probably just wanted to get as far away from them as possible.
There were times, when I was inside, that I regretted my actions. But seeing LeRoy’s eyes pinned on me like he’d won… no . There was no more regret. He deserved every fucking punch to his ugly ass face. Something in me savored the view of his once perfect nose and how it was slightly bulging in the middle from my fist breaking the bone.
His friend shifted toward Callie Rose and me, watching us with a bored look on his face.
“This is the dirtbag who thought he could get away with punching me.” LeRoy ran a hand through his jet-black hair. “Little did he know I let him get the hits in so I could send him away for ten years.”
“Oh shit,” his friend laughed. The sound was chalky, it grated my nerves making my anger rise higher. “I’m surprised they let him out. By the looks of him, they should have kept him in that cage.”
I bristled at the word cage . Flashes of my nightmares brimming the surface. I shoved them down. There wasn’t a chance in hell I was going to let these assholes affect me.
I went to step toward them, red lining my vision. It felt like I was in a damn tunnel and the only thing I could see was a flashback of my fist beating LeRoy’s face that night.
He wasn’t supposed to be here. Back in my hometown. He was supposed to be somewhere far far away where I’d never have to see his fucking face again. But that was the thing about small towns. Everyone usually made their way back home .
Something pulled at my arm before I could take another step forward. No. It wasn’t something. It was someone . Looking over my shoulder at my little sister, I swore her face looked different. Younger. Just like she’d been when I went away. And like a flash, my vision cleared and I could see how age had shifted her into a woman.
No words left her mouth, but I noticed the subtle shake of her head. The plea in her eyes as her grip on my forearm tightened. The rage in my veins stuttered when I saw the worry shining in her irises. If I did this…if I let my anger over these two assholes win then I would lose everything.
Our surroundings came back into focus. There were so many people and there was no way in hell I’d get away with pummeling his face again. Just like I hadn’t when they’d somehow managed to pull a video recording from the store that monitored their alleyway.
Darkness shrouded my vision as I closed my eyes. With a few deep breaths, I steadied myself. My thundering heartbeat slowed and the anger I felt toward LeRoy and everything he’d taken from me settled.
Maybe I’d get my revenge one day. But not now. Not in front of my sister. And certainly not when anyone could fucking see me.
When I opened my eyes, Callie Rose knew I was safe. I could see the light coming back into her face. At that moment I felt proud that I’d made the better decision.
Without another look at LeRoy or his friend, I went back to organizing the empty crates and boxes at the back of my sister’s tent .
I heard one of them say, “Fucking hick” under their breath. The other one snickered before the sounds of their feet hitting the sidewalk told me they’d grown bored and walked away.
Callie Rose loosed a long exhale. Heat crawled over my skin. I might have made the right choice of not engaging with them, but fuck if it didn’t feel hard.
“He doesn’t deserve to walk around with that smug look on his face,” she whispered.
“He doesn’t deserve to walk around at all."
“Thank you, Ranger. For not letting them win. You have too much to lose now.” Sorrow blanketed her face and I knew she meant that I’d found something really special with Sarah.
“I had too much to lose the first time,” was my only response before I went back to organizing the boxes and she started taking orders from patrons who were strolling up.
What I didn’t tell my sister was that it took everything in me not to make LeRoy pay for what he’d done to our family. For the years he’d shaved off my life like I was nothing.
I wanted to do better. To let it all go. But I knew, deep down, that if I ever had the chance to make him suffer without anyone knowing. I’d fucking do it.
“Hi, beautiful.” Sarah’s chestnut hair was held up high on her head in a messy bun. Long tendrils framed her face. She looked so damn pretty, it made my chest hurt.
“Hi!” she breathed, looking up from cleaning the now empty glass case where she’d sold out of her bakery items.
The glass door snicked shut and she hopped around the table with a bright smile on her face before jumping straight into my arms.
Sugar and spices overwhelmed my sense of smell in the best way. It was wholly Sarah and I breathed in deeply, taking note of exactly what she smelled like so I would remember it when we had to be apart.
“I’ve missed you,” she said and then her soft lips met mine in a crushing kiss that had me drawing her closer. A soft moan had her mouth vibrating against mine as she opened up for me and I met her tongue with mine in long fluid strokes.
Fuck, she tasted so damn good. The way she melted against my body had my cock hardening against my jeans. I’d gotten a taste of her last night and my mouth watered for more. I wanted every part of her to be mine.
“I missed you too, sugar,” I said as we parted. I framed her face with my hands and kissed her forehead.
“Are you ready for tonight?”
Her cheeks hollowed out as her lips twisted to one side. She was supposed to see the guy her mother had set her up with to end things. Even though I knew nothing had happened between the two of them, it still rubbed me raw thinking of another man taking her on a date. Even if she was going to tell him she no longer wanted to see him.
“Mmhmm.” She nodded, burying her hands under my coat. I loved when she did things like that.
I stroked the back of her hair, loving how soft the strands felt in my rough hands. “I have to admit, I’ll be pretty damn happy when it’s over.” I knew what ending things with this guy would mean for Sarah. She would have to face the wrath of her mother and whatever bullshit she would try to pull. But wanting Sarah meant wanting every bit of her. Sharing even an hour of her attention with another man had my head swimming with what I could only describe as jealousy. I’d never felt the emotion in my entire life before her.
“Honestly, me too. I’m tired of letting my parents influence what I do in my life. I don’t want to be afraid of their consequences anymore. This is the first step in healing from all of that.”
“If there is anything I can do to help, you just say the word and I’ll be there.”
She bit her lower lip. “Actually, there might be something you can do if it wouldn’t be too much trouble.”
“Name it.”
She took a moment to consider her words. “He hasn’t given me any true reason to think that he might react poorly to me rejecting him, but…I just have this feeling. I can’t really describe it and I might be completely overreacting. But I get the notion that he has it in him to be a real douchebag if he doesn’t get what he wants. Would you mind picking me up just in case I can’t get rid of him? ”
That fierce protectiveness that I got from my father immediately sharpened my focus. Sarah hadn’t told me these concerns before. Now, I was on high alert for her safety.
“If you have a feeling like that, then you’re probably right, Sarah. Are you sure you want to do this in person?” I wasn’t going to control what she wanted to do. It wasn’t my place, even if I felt jealous or protective. But I wanted to ask to let her know she didn’t have to do this if she didn’t want to.
“Yeah, I’m sure. Ending things will burn enough bridges through my mother. I don’t need him telling everyone in town that I’m a coward who couldn’t end things with him in person. I think it’ll be okay, I’d just feel more comfortable having you as my getaway driver.” She winked at me and her cute smile did something strange to my stomach. It felt like a swarm of bees or dragonflies were buzzing inside of me.
“Just name the place and time and I’ll be there.”
“Thank you.” She pressed a kiss to my cheek that had me grinning like a fool.
“Let me help you finish packing up your car.”
With her hand in mine, she guided me under her tent. “It’s nice to have some big strong muscles to help me with these things now.”
“You can borrow them anytime you want, sugar.”