57. Wentworth
FIFTY-SEVEN
Wentworth
WE’RE WALKING BACK TO THE HOUSE WHEN THE screen door bangs open. A few seconds later, I watch Brock stalk his way across the porch, Kait’s little sister in tow, his arm clamped around her bicep while he led her to the truck.
“Don’t.” Hillary places a hand on my arm like she can read my mind. “Intervening only makes it worse.”
I make an ugly sound in the back of my throat while I watch Brock open Abbey’s door and practically throw her into the cab of his truck. “Not the way I do it.”
Clucking her tongue at me, Hillary runs a hand over her grandson’s head. “Looks like your ride’s leaving,” she says, her tone deceptively light. “Best catch up before you miss it.”
The boy hesitates for a moment, the look on his face saying plainly that he doesn’t want to leave before he looks up at me. “If I ask my dad and he says it’s okay, can I come back tomorrow and play with your dog?”
Even though I have no idea where I’ll be tomorrow or if Kait and I will even be here, I nod. “I think he’d be mad if you didn’t.”
The boy flashes Mook a quick smile before he takes off for the truck. Seconds later, he’s inside it and Brock is speeding away from the house, dust and gravel flying through the air.
“I best get in the house and see what happened,” Hillary says before reaching up to pat me on my arm, as high as she can reach. “Thanks for walking with me.”
As soon as she starts back to the house, I pull out my phone. Noticing my brother still hasn’t texted me back, I send Kait a message.
Me: Where are you? What happened? Are you okay?
Relief floods through me when she texts me back almost immediately.
Kait: Barn
Shoving my phone back in my pocket, I cover the ground between the house and the barn at a dead run, suddenly desperate to make sure she’s okay. Throwing the door open, I’m immediately enveloped by the smells of fresh hay and horse. Looking down the length of the building, I see a dozen stalls. One of them is open.
“Kait?”
“Down here,” she answers me, even as I’m moving toward the open stall. Stopping in the wedge of it, heart hammering in my chest, I find Kait standing in the stall, her arms wrapped around Two-tone’s neck. Her face buried in his mane while he nickers and nibbles at her hair, his ears pricked forward.
“Kait…” Needing to touch her to make sure she’s okay, I step into the stall to run a hand down her back. “What happened?”
Lifting her head from Two-tone’s neck, she turns to look at me with tear-stained cheeks. “He hurts her.” Her voice breaks when she says it. “I know he hurt her.”
Pulling her into my arms, I hold her while she cries. Something happened. I know something happened but now is the wrong time to ask. Arms wrapped around her, I console her while Two-tone nuzzles her cheek. “It’s going to be okay, Sunshine.” I have no idea if that’s true but I say it anyway. “Whatever happened, we’ll?—”
“He brought me here to make me sign papers,” she says quietly. “The ranch is in a trust and with Luke gone?—”
“You’re next in line,” I finish for her.
“Yeah…” Lifting a hand off my chest, she gestures toward a packet of papers in the hay next to the door, she gives me a wobbly smile. “He wants me to relinquish stewardship so he can amend the trust and pass it over to Abbey.”
Stepping away from me, she lifts a hand to swipe it across her face. “We need to go into town,” she says out of nowhere. “I need to walk around. People need to see me. They need to see us together.”
“You lost me, Sunshine.” I shake my head because now I’m confused. “Why do we need to go into town to be seen by a bunch of assholes who treated you like shit?”
Turning toward Two-tone, she rubs his muzzle before pressing her face against his. “I’ll come back tomorrow,” she tells him while stroking his neck. “I promise I won’t leave without saying goodbye this time.” Giving him a final pat, she steps away from him and looks at me. “Let’s go,” she says. “I’ll explain on the way.”