Chapter 37
Leah
I was over by the bar, watching Cassie dancing and laughing with her husband. Everyone was having a good time, and even with the couple of blips, it was almost like things were normal. If nothing else, she’d had a good wedding and I’d gotten to watch her laugh and cry, walk down the aisle, see her and her husband exchange vows and look at each other like they were the entire world with the mountains sprawling in the background. This had turned into one hell of a good venue.
“We need to have that talk, unless you want to do it here,” Edwin said, having crept up behind me.
He’d never leave me alone until he said whatever it was he had to say. I threw back the last of my drink and turned to face him.
“Fine. Let’s go,” I said, even though I was reaching my limit of what I would take from this man. Ruining Cassie’s wedding with a scene would be a step too far.
I waved him toward the banquet tent exit.
He took the lead, expecting me to just follow. I stared at his back, wishing I’d grabbed a steak knife off one of the tables. Would I really stab him? It was getting close enough that it wasn’t an easy no anymore.
Edwin kept walking. He probably wanted to get me out of gunshot-hearing range and do away with me. Say it was an “accident.” He was such a good con artist, he’d probably get away with it, too.
Maybe that was why I could never shake this inner tremble I had whenever he was near. No one else ever looked at him sideways, but I knew what he was capable of. He somehow walked away smelling like his expensive cologne and looking as sleek as his thousand-dollar suits, no matter what grime and muck he’d been shoveling.
“This is far enough,” I said as soon as we hit the ranch porch.
He looked around and then nodded, as if he were only stopping because he’d approved.
“How are things going?” he asked, even now sounding so polished and sophisticated, no sign of the slimebag he was.
“Fine. What do you want?” I said, giving him nothing because that was what he deserved. Technically he deserved less, but that wasn’t possible. How many times had I hoped I was wrong about this man only to find out he was even worse than I thought?
“You and Kade look pretty chummy,” he said.
Of course that would bother him. “And?”
“I just want to remind you how bad it would be to put crazy ideas into his head. We wouldn’t want pillow talk to ruin anyone’s life.”
Was he afraid of Kade? Was he afraid of catching a beating? He didn’t need to be. Kade might be putting on a good act for my ex, but I still didn’t think he’d be willing to risk the ire of the law to punch Edwin in the face. We all knew my stepfather was the type to press charges, too, even if he deserved the beating more than anyone I’d ever met.
Funny how he said “anyone’s life” when it always meant mine. I’d finally thought I’d been free of this man, had spent years building distance between us, and he’d still screwed up my life.
“Don’t talk to me about what might happen and what I should be doing. I’ve done enough. You’d be in prison if it weren’t for me. You set me up, you asshole, and I don’t want to hear anything else.”
That would’ve wiped the arrogance off a weaker man’s face, but that wasn’t who Edwin was. Sometimes I wondered if the key to getting away with all he’d done was to act as if he was in the right. This man would never have a guilty conscience. He didn’t come equipped with the ability to feel bad for anything.
“Set you up? You and your stories. You’re awfully brazen for somebody convicted of a felony.”
I couldn’t prove my innocence the first time. I wasn’t delusional enough to think a second attempt would make a difference.
“You might pretend in front of everybody else, but I’m not going to stomach it,” I said.
“Pretend? That’s not what the courts thought. It’s not what they’d think if they found more tucked away in a warehouse in your name.” He smiled.
Once I’d taken the fall for his crime, of course he’d made sure to pile more on so I could never dig myself out unless he let me. He owned me, and there wasn’t any way around it. I might be better off on this ranch for the rest of my life if it kept him at bay.
But I just couldn’t roll over that easy, at least not in this setting. If he knew he had me, it was over. If I stopped pushing back, he really would own me.
“Don’t press me or I will talk, wherever the chips fall.”
“You’ll only make it worse on yourself. The more trouble you stir up, the more will bounce back onto you after all. I mean, it looks pretty cushy here, but it was your first offense. Another offense and you probably won’t be so lucky.”
I wanted to rip his throat out. I wanted to scream that I’d get him if it was the last thing I did, but I couldn’t. Everything he said was accurate. I was screwed, and he held all the cards, at least for now. So I hit the only soft spot I’d ever sensed in him.
“I just hope I don’t slip and say something to Kade one night.”
I’d hit the target if his reaching out and gripping my forearm like a vise meant anything.
“You say one word to him and your heels will leave tracks through this whole place as they drag you out of here. Do you hear me?”
Why was he so afraid of Kade? This was more than fear of catching a beating.
“You had better take your hands off her.”
My stepfather’s face morphed back into its normal mask the moment he heard Kade’s voice. Showed how bad he was slipping that he’d even gotten caught. He used to stay more on his toes than this.
“Kade, we were just having a family chat,” he said, immediately letting me go.
“We don’t have those kinds of chats with women around here.” Kade walked closer and stepped in between us, physically backing Edwin up another couple steps.
“I’m sure you can understand a father’s frustration in a moment like this.”
Kade’s gaze shot to my arm, where marks were already showing.
“No. I actually don’t.” He walked closer, forcing Edwin to step back again. “What I would love to know is why you think you have any say in whether she stays here or not?”
“You came upon us at a very awkward moment. I’m only trying to help her not get herself in more trouble by saying foolish things or doing something crazy. Like I said, you caught us in the middle of a family squabble, is all. I know this must look horrible to you, but after what’s happened, I get a little emotional if I’m afraid she might be heading off down the track again. I’ve cared for her like she was my own flesh and blood. It’s hard to stand by while she’s making such poor decisions.” The veil was firmly back in place and he was calm sophistication again, expecting everyone to fall in line.
I stared at the ground, waiting to hear Kade say he understood. How could he not? Edwin was such a stand-up guy. Everyone knew it. How many times had someone said it to me over the last decade?
“Actually, I don’t. Get out.” Kade sounded as if he were barely holding back from ripping Edwin apart.
“Excuse me?”
“What are you misunderstanding? I’m telling you to get off my property.” Kade stood there, waiting, making it clear he wasn’t leaving until my stepfather did.
“I believe it’s up to Leah if she’s done having this conversation with me,” Edwin said, his dark underbelly showing. He wasn’t used to getting any pushback, let alone what Kade was dishing out.
“This is my ranch, and she’s under my protection, so this is how it’s going to go. You’re going to leave now. Not after you say goodbye to the bride; not after you circle a few times and work the crowd. You can go get your wife and leave, or just leave, but you need to get out of here in the next five minutes.”
“I… What?” Edwin’s face was so red that his flush was visible even in the dim light.
“You heard me,” Kade said. “If you don’t, something very bad is going to happen. I haven’t decided which route to go yet, but there will be a lot of pain and humiliation and zero witnesses.”
“I’m not sure what I’ve done to?—”
“You’ve received your warning.” He looked at his watch.
Edwin gaped at him and then tried to look past Kade to me. “Leah, how can you?—"
“You don’t get to speak to her. You’re dealing with me,” Kade said. He tapped his watch. “Four minutes.”
Edwin scrambled off.
Kade turned to me. “Are you okay?” he asked, his voice soft as his hand came to my cheek.
I had a lot of emotions flowing through me, and none of them so simply wrapped up in that word.
Across the way, I could see Cassie holding court, getting ready to depart.
“I have to get back over there before she leaves,” I said, wanting nothing more than to go into the ranch and bury my head under the covers.
“We need to talk as soon as this is over,” he said.
“I know.” He deserved something at this point. But how much could I say without dragging him into it? I wasn’t sure.