Chapter 20
CHAPTER TWENTY
ABBI
“ I t’s been a goddamn week,” Brady grumbles in that sexy, sleepy voice he gets in the morning. His face is pressed to my neck, and he’s kissing me right where he knows that I can’t resist. My core tightens, and I want to push back against his hard cock, but I control myself.
“ Only a week,” I remind him and shimmy around to face him so I can look into his gorgeous hazel eyes. “Your shoulder isn’t ready for vigorous activity, horny man.”
“Fuck my shoulder.”
I smirk and cup his cheek, loving the way he’s looking at me. “No, that’s not the part that I’d like to fuck right now.”
Brady groans. “You’re killing me, Blue Eyes. I.” He kisses my nose. “Want.” Kisses my forehead. “You.”
I bite his chin and urge him onto his back. “If we’re going to do this, I’m doing the work.”
“That’s not how I like things to roll, and you know it.”
“Take it or leave it.”
He narrows his eyes at me, but he doesn’t stop me as I kiss my way down his hard, sculpted torso and grip his already hard cock in my fist, pumping up and down. I know that Brady likes to be in control when we make love, but I won’t take the chance of his shoulder being hurt more than it is. The bruising on it is startling, but it’s finally fading to a sickly green.
Which tells me that the rest is helping.
“Baby, you touch me so good.” He drags his thumb across my bottom lip, and I lick it before pulling it into my mouth to suck on the tip, making his jaw clench.
“Mm,” I agree and rub my nose around his navel. “Love touching you, Cowboy.”
The word cowboy has his cock twitching in my hand, and I grin against him. His good hand is in my hair, brushing through the strands as I kiss his hip, and then drag my tongue down that long line that makes one side of the V at his pelvis.
That V makes my mouth water.
“Shit,” he mutters. “Ride me, baby.”
“You’ll hold on to me,” I reply, slowly shaking my head. “And we can’t have that.”
“I will spank your ass if you don’t ride my cock, Abbi.”
I grin up at him and, without further ado, lick over the crown of his cock, and Brady sucks a sharp breath through his teeth.
“Ah, fuck.”
“Still gonna spank me?” I sink over him, taking him all the way to the back of my throat.
“Yes.” But his hand fists in my hair and holds me where I am. “Later. Much later.”
I moan around him and work him up and down. His hips move with me, and he’s making the most delicious noises as I take my time with him.
“I’m going to come, baby.” He pulls on my hair, trying to get me to move off of him, but I stay firm and tighten my lips around his shaft, wanting to taste him. “Ah, shit, Abs. Shit.”
He comes, letting go in my mouth, and I lap him up. And then, as he’s panting and watching me with bright hazel eyes, I pad into the bathroom to wash my hands.
When I return, he’s sitting on the edge of the bed, watching me.
“I don’t just want you to blow me, babe. Not that it isn’t the best fucking blow job of my life, and you’re a goddamn goddess for doing it, but I need to be inside of you. I need all of you. ”
“I know, but you’re too… active when we have sex, and you have to take it easy. I need you healthy.”
He wraps his arms around my legs, his hands cupping my ass as he pulls me to him.
“And you should be wearing your sling,” I add, but he leans in and plants a kiss on my belly, and my hands instinctively dive into his hair. “How’s your headache?”
“No more headache,” he murmurs against my skin. “And tonight, I’m making love to you. I’m going to sink inside of you and feel you come on my cock. We’ll make it work.”
I grin and bend over to kiss his hair. “Okay. I miss you, too. What are you doing today?”
“Daisy and I are going to the ranch.”
“Brady—”
“Don’t start,” he says, shaking his head as I back away. “We’re not going to work, and neither one of us will get on a horse, but we miss it out there, okay? And I need to check in with the utilities people for our property.”
Our property.
Those words send a shot of electricity through me, and I feel giddy. I can’t wait to live on the ranch with Brady and my daughter. On our property. Not Brady’s family’s homestead, where Daisy and I get to live, but ours . It’s the best feeling in the world, and it’s something that I never dared to wish for. People like me, where I come from, don’t get to live on beautiful ranches with the best views in the world.
“What just went through that gorgeous head?” Brady asks.
“Nothing.” But I smile at him, and he tips my chin up so he can cover my lips with his. “You promise you won’t do anything stupid?”
“Of course, I won’t do anything stupid. Daisy will babysit me.”
I smirk at that and lean down to kiss him. “I don’t mean to be a nag. I just want you better.”
“You’re not a nag.” He chuckles when I lift an eyebrow at him. “Okay, you’re not much of one. I’d do the same if the tables were turned, which they’d never be turned because I would lose my mind if you were injured.”
I kiss him again and then pull away to get ready for work.
I’m still swamped and buried in the never-ending laundry, but at least I was able to fill the empty housekeeping positions, so I can stay at the shop and focus on catching up. Hopefully, I’ll be recovered from the chaos in the next day or two.
Daisy wanders down the stairs, rubbing her eyes, as I pour myself a cup of coffee and pull together some things for lunch.
“Good morning,” I say to her as she wraps her arms around my waist and hugs me close. “How did you sleep, babes?”
“Fine,” she says. “Can I have cereal?”
“Sure.”
“I’ve got this,” Brady says with a wink. “You head off for work.”
“You sure?” He smirks and turns his back on me to pull a bowl down for Daisy, and I shrug a shoulder. “I guess you’re sure. Give me a kiss.”
Daisy tips her lips up, and I press them to my cheek, and then Brady’s there, offering me his lips, too, which I buss with my own.
“Have a good day, Blue Eyes.”
“You guys, too. Stay out of trouble.”
There’s a light at the end of this wet, dark, annoying tunnel.
For the first time in almost two weeks, I have the last load of sheets in the dryer. My arms are so sore from all the lifting and moving and sorting, not to mention the folding, but I’ve reached the bottom of the pile. Finally getting the washer fixed a few days ago made all of the difference.
Of course, my crew is about to get here with today’s dirty laundry, but it’ll finally be a manageable amount that, with my machines, should only take a couple of hours.
And I can do that in the morning.
At last, I’m back on schedule! It feels so good, I could cry.
With the work day almost finished, I clean the office, both the front area where my desk is and the workroom, with the washers and dryers, tables for folding, and all the shelving where the linens sit, waiting for the next day.
After my crew drops off their supplies and today’s laundry, they head out for the day, and I’m just about to lock the door when a woman comes sauntering in.
She’s beautiful. Taller than me, with long dark hair and olive skin. Her eyes are also dark, and her complexion is flawless. She’s willowy thin and is wearing tight jeans with a tucked-in cami, and her laser-sharp gaze finds mine.
“Wow,” she says, looking me up and down. I wouldn’t say she’s watching me with appreciation.
I instantly don’t like her.
“Uh, hello. Can I help you?”
“I wanted to come in and see you for myself.” She nods as she walks closer to my desk. “That Rancher ad is impressive, and I can see that they did you justice.”
What Rancher ad?
I frown up at her and purse my lips.
“Ah, you haven’t seen it yet,” she says with a smug smile. “Don’t worry, it’s a good one. Of course, Brady looks good enough to eat. He always does. That man is delicious, with a cock that makes a girl just about beg for it.”
“Who are you?” I’m no longer perplexed. Now, I’m pissed.
“Jen,” she says and doesn’t hold out her hand. “And you’re the bitch he dumped me for.”
My mind whirls and then goes back to that night before Christmas when Brady came to the house and admitted that he’d been to his fuck buddy’s place before he found his way to me.
And all I can do is grin.
He came to me.
“From what I hear,” I say as I prop my hands on my hips, “it wasn’t really a dumping. I didn’t think fuck buddies could be dumped. ”
Her eyes narrow, and her lips firm in agitation before she looks me up and down again, disgust written all over her face.
“If he wanted to leave my bed and move on to a fat-ass like you, I guess that tells me all I need to know about his taste.”
Yeah, it hits the mark. But I just laugh at her again because this bitch will never see that she hurt my feelings.
“You know, it occurs to me that he stopped fucking you months ago. Why are you coming in here now? Our relationship isn’t a secret.”
Jen doesn’t lose that look of disgust. I suspect it’s on her face all the time, not just when she’s looking at me. “I didn’t buy that it would last. Then I saw the ad.”
With one last look, she spins on her heel and strides away.
As soon as the door closes behind her, I open my laptop and search for the newest ad and sit back, watching it.
I remember not long after the shoot, they set Brady up in a sound booth and asked him to record some lines for it so they could play his voice in the background. And I’m surprised to see that the ad runs for a minute and thirty seconds.
That’s a long-ass commercial.
“Here in Montana, we do things a little differently,” Brady’s voice fills the room as images from the ranch come on screen. The men fixing the fence, laughing with each other. Brady leading Blackjack around the arena, smiling up at him.
Of course, there are plenty of images of his ass in those jeans, and that makes my mouth water.
Brady doing just about anything makes my mouth water, but he looks particularly hot in this commercial.
“Family isn’t just meeting up for Thanksgiving dinner or saying hello at a wedding. Family is a way of life. A promise.”
And now, I’m choked up as Brady and his dad fill the screen, and then his siblings, all sitting on the fence line. Here at the Wild River Ranch, we take pride in our history. Of how our ancestors worked this land, long before we were here. They paved the way for us to succeed, far beyond their wildest imaginations. I like knowing that we live on the wild side here, taking what comes and not letting the small stuff bother us too much. It’s a quiet way of life that we plan to pass on to those who come after we’re long gone. With twenty seconds left to go, my tears dry up, and I stare in shock as I watch myself walk over to Brady in the arena, and he bends down to kiss me. His arms flex as they come around my waist, and he’s watching me with eyes so full of love that it takes my breath away.
I don’t remember taking his hat and putting it on my head, but I do, and now we’re laughing together.
“We live this life because we love it, who we are because of it, and those who care about us despite it. Bitterroot Valley, Montana is where my heart lives.”
The image shifts to the barn at the end of the day as soft music plays. Brady’s brushing Blackjack, then leads him into his stall and kisses his nose.
And there is my daughter, running to greet Brady. Every part of me goes cold.
“Please don’t show her face,” I murmur, watching closely. “Please, for fuck’s sake, do not show my daughter’s face.”
But she turns and smiles up at me, and there she is. For all the world to see.
For all the goddamn world to see.
And my heart starts to hammer in my chest. Without another thought, I pick up my phone to call Brady. To rail at him. How could he do this without checking with me first? He has no idea the danger he just put us in.
We have to move , is all I can think. I have to go straight home and pack our things and get us the hell out of here.
Before I can dial his number, Erin’s calling.
“Hey,” I say, trying to act casual. “I can’t talk long.”
“You need to come to the ranch,” she says. “We all just saw the commercial, and everyone is pissed off. No one gave permission for them to use you, Daisy, or anyone else’s faces in the ad, and the men are on the warpath.”
Thank God. Brady didn’t know.
“I just saw it.” I swallow hard, trying to calm down despite the panic making its way through my body. The panic attack is right there , and I need to keep it at bay. “It’s a beautiful commercial, but yeah. I wasn’t expecting that.”
“We’re all here, Abbi. Even Chase is leaving work early to come here. We’re making a big dinner, and we can all be together to discuss the next steps. Trust me, this wasn’t on purpose. As a mom, I’d be freaking pissed .”
“Yeah. Yeah, okay.” We’ll be safe on the ranch, and then I can figure out what to do next. “I’ll be there in thirty.”
I lock the door and hurry out to my car, and as I’m driving out to the ranch, Brady calls.
“Hey,” I say as I answer.
“Baby, I’m so sorry. I didn’t know that they were going to put you and Daisy in that fucking commercial.”
“We’ll talk about it when I get there.” I swallow hard. Shit, I’m going to have to tell them everything. I don’t have a choice. “It’s going to be okay.”
But I don’t believe that. I don’t believe for a second that everything’s going to be okay after this.
“Wait. How did you know about it?”
I clear my throat. “Your old pal Jen came into my office to check me out and told me about it.”
“Fuck.” His voice is tired and irritated. “I’ll take care of her.”
“She was also sure to make it clear that you left her for a fat-ass bitch.”
He snarls as I blink quickly, fighting the tears that want to come.
“Quite a nice girl you had there, Cowboy.”
“Fuck that and fuck her. I’ll take care of her, baby.”
“I did that myself. She won’t make any more trouble.”
“Are you almost here?” he asks.
“Yeah, five minutes.”
“Okay, babe. Love you.”
He clicks off, and I want to succumb to the tears. He loves me. And I love him so much, I can’t think straight. I don’t want to leave him. I don’t want to give up this life that Daisy and I have worked so fucking hard for.
But I don’t see any other option. Janet will find us, and she’ll take Daisy away from me, and that can never happen. It won’t happen.
Because I’ll disappear again.
I pull up in front of the farmhouse. Before I can even open my door, Brady’s rushing out the front door and down the steps to me.
I step out, and then I’m in his arms, and he’s holding me tightly, kissing my head.
“I’m so sorry.” He kisses my forehead. “About the whole situation, but especially about Jen. She’s a mean bitch, Abs, and I’ll make sure she knows that she fucked with the wrong girl.”
I pat his back, already trying to mentally distance myself from him. God, this is going to be the hardest thing I ever do. “I don’t really care about her and her jealousy. It’s actually a really beautiful commercial and makes this place, and your family, look amazing.”
“But they showed you and Daisy,” he murmurs, anguish in every word. “And I didn’t say they could do that. Abbi, I didn’t know. ”
“I’m glad to hear that.” I step out of his arms, already missing him so much, and try to smile up at him.
“Why are you looking at me like that?” He scowls and frames my face in his hands. “Talk to me, Blue Eyes.”
“Let’s go inside.” Again, I step out of his grasp. “We’ll talk everything through.”
“Baby, I understand being upset. I know how you feel about Daisy’s face being shown.”
You don’t know. I want to scream it at him. But I just nod and walk ahead of him into the house, where everyone else is already waiting.
“Abbi,” Joy says with a bright smile. She hurries to me and wraps me in a hug, and I just want to lean into her and sob.
But I don’t.
“We’re going to sue the fuck out of them,” Ryan says from across the room. His hazel eyes, so much like his brother’s, are feral with rage. “By the time I’m done with them, I’ll own that entire goddamn company.”
I believe him. He will.
“A lot of money is going in the swear jar today,” I hear Johnny say to his sister and Daisy, who both nod.
I do believe Ryan, but the damage is already done. I have to hurry up here so I can rush home and get Daisy and me ready to leave. I have no idea where we’ll go, but I can’t stay here.
It’s not safe.
My phone rings, and when I pull it out of my pocket, I see that it’s Jerome, my P.I., and I swallow hard but answer.
“Someone fucked up,” he says in my ear. It’s loud enough that Brady can hear.
“Who is that?” Brady asks, but I shake my head.
“I know,” I reply softly. “I’ll handle it.”
“You need to get the fuck out of there, Abbi.”
“Who the fuck is that?” Brady demands.
“I’ll handle it,” I say again and click off, just as Chase approaches me, his face hard.
Oh, God.
“Abbi,” Chase says, but Brady puts his hand on Chase’s chest, holding him away.
“Mommy?”
“Jake,” I say, without taking my eyes off Chase. “Would you please take the little kids outside? Don’t go far, okay? And don’t take your eyes off of them. That’s very important.”
“Sure,” Jake says. “Come on, you little turds. Let’s go find some trouble.”
When they’re gone, Chase shakes his head at me, and Brady’s watching both of us.
“Abbi,” Brady says, his voice hard. “I need you to tell me what the fuck is going on.”
“First,” Chase says, holding up his phone. There’s a Missing Child image on the screen, with Daisy’s smiling face on it. “Tell me what the fuck this is about.” His voice is all cop. All ice.
Brady’s gaze whips to me, and he backs away as if he’s been burned.
My life is falling apart around me, and the panic attack wants to surface, but I swallow and then look around the room.
Erin and Remington, all of my friends, and their husbands. Millie. Their parents. They’re all staring at me, waiting for me to talk.
“Did you kidnap Daisy?” Brady demands.
“No.” It’s a whisper, and I rub my hands over my face before Joy jumps in.
“Come on, everyone,” Joy says. “Let’s sit in the dining room and talk this out. Abbi, it’s okay, darling. Let’s sit.”
I follow the others, and I sit at the end of the table so I can see everyone.
If I have to tell those who mean the most to me that I’ve been lying to their faces, I’m going to look them in the eyes while I do it.
Brady sits next to me, but he won’t touch me. He’s iced me out, and that alone shatters my heart.
“I’m going to tell you this story,” I say, my voice not wavering, my chin up. “And then I’m going to leave. Daisy and I will disappear.”
“Like. Fucking. Hell.” Brady’s voice is hard, bordering on mean. I reach for his hand, but he pulls back, out of reach.
“Most of you know that my mom died when I was young. I spent my teen years in foster care. It was not easy. I was emotionally, physically, and sexually abused.”
“Jesus,” Chase whispers as Polly covers her mouth with her hands.
“In high school, I made a friend named Nate Channing. He was from the other side of the tracks, so to speak, and he was super smart and really nice to me. Anyway, we were friends all through school. He’d help me with money, especially after I turned eighteen and left the foster home I was living in.
“This is relevant, trust me. When he was in college, we ended up getting pregnant.” I swallow hard. “On accident, of course. He wanted to do the right thing and marry me, and I agreed. His parents did not like me. Not at all. Not even a little.”
“Assholes,” Millie mutters.
“What I haven’t told you is that Nate had an older sister, Natalie. She died before he was born, but that death kind of sent his mom into a bad mental space. And when I had Daisy, my daughter looked a lot like Natalie.”
“Oh, shit,” Ryan says.
“Yeah. She was convinced that Daisy was her daughter. She went mad with it. She’d steal Daisy away and wouldn’t give her back, and we’d have to call the police. She tried suing us for custody several times. If it weren’t for Nate’s dad, she would have yanked all the money out from under us so we’d have no choice but to come to her for help.”
“She’s a fucking peach,” John says, his eyes narrowed.
“It gets worse.” I have to stand and pace, ignoring the look on Brady’s face as he watches me. He’s not cold now. He’s livid. And hurt. “Nate got sick right before Daisy turned two. Pneumonia that turned septic and killed him. The last thing I promised him was that his mother would never get her hands on our daughter.”
I look at the others again.
“She tried. When I was at the hospital with Nate, as he was dying , she showed up at the daycare center and tried to take Daisy. Thank God the girls there knew the situation, and she didn’t get away with it. I didn’t even get to attend my husband’s funeral because I was too busy packing what little we had and fleeing. I hired a PI—that’s who called just now—who fills me in if things change with Janet, and every time she starts to figure out where we are, I change our last name and move.”
“I don’t even know your name,” Brady says with hot steel in his voice. “Jesus Christ, I love you. I want to build a life with you, and I don’t even know your goddamn name.”
“Abbi is my name. It would get too complicated to change our first names all the time.”
But he lifts his eyes to mine, and the devastation there almost brings me to my knees.
“You told me,” he says and then has to swallow hard, “that if you ever didn’t feel safe, you’d tell me and let me help you.”
“I wish I could do that.” I lick my lips and turn my attention back to Chase. “I didn’t steal Daisy. She’s mine, and I’ve never lost custody of her.”
“Then why run?” Summer asks with a frown. “If you legally didn’t do anything wrong, why run away?”
“You don’t understand.” With a sigh, I sit heavily back in my chair. “Nate’s parents weren’t just wealthy, they were fucking rich. I had a little money from Nate, but Janet has millions at her disposal, along with a small-town sheriff and politicians, and I’m…nobody.”
“I’ll fucking bury her,” Ryan says, and it makes my chest warm. “I’ll make her wish she was never born.”
“This isn’t your fight.” I smile sadly and turn to Brady. “I’m very sorry for the lies. I wanted to tell you, but I couldn’t risk that she’d find us. That’s why I never share photos of Daisy. I look a lot different than I did back then.”
“How so?” Erin asks.
“I let my hair go back to blonde. This is my natural color, but Nate liked it dark. And I’ve gained some weight. Before the baby, I was smaller. Add in hormones and a baby, and well…” I shrug. “I’m curvier. I don’t really dress the same. But Daisy is Daisy, and it’s not like I’m going to make her dye her hair or something.”
“I can’t believe this.” Brady leans forward, rubbing his forehead with his fingertips. “I don’t know your goddamn name. ”
“He’s malfunctioning,” Chase says to Rem, who just nods slowly.
“Abbi Sue Palmer is my maiden name,” I reply. “Kastella was my grandmother’s maiden name.”
“You’ve been my friend for a while now,” Erin says. “You know that this family, my family in Seattle, we all would have helped you. She may have money, but so do we , Abbi. Have you met Ryan? My father? Just about everyone in this room? Hell, even London Montgomery. You have resources.”
“This is my mess,” I insist, but she just rolls her eyes. “I know it’s hard to understand. I was scared of her. I am scared of her. Terrified, actually.”
“Is this what you have nightmares about?” Brady asks, interrupting, his eyes hot. God, I fucking hate the way he’s looking at me. “When you wake up screaming, in a panic, and you say you can’t find Daisy?”
I nod and press my lips together, and Brady’s chair scrapes back as he shoves to his feet.
“I need a minute.”
“Brady—”
He puts his hand up and looks me in the eye now. “I love you, but I need a fucking minute.”
He slams out of the house, leaving silence in his wake.
Finally, I clear my throat. “I need to go.”
“You’re not running away,” Ryan says, his voice hard but calm.
“Not a chance,” Chase agrees, while the others nod in agreement.
“Yeah, I am. Listen, I love you all.” Now the tears come, and I swallow hard again. I can’t dislodge this lump in my throat. “I love your family so much, and the last thing in the world I want is to have to say goodbye to you. But I can’t lead her to your doorstep. You may be able to fight her, but she’ll cause so much chaos in the process that I just can’t do that to you. She’s not just mentally ill, she’s…evil.”
I stand now and wipe the tears from my cheeks.
“Thank you for everything you’ve done for us.”
I turn and walk out the back door, looking for my daughter. She’s playing with the other kids, laughing and singing with them. God, she loves it here so much. These are her best friends. This is her family.
“Come on, babes. We have to get home.”
“But we haven’t had dinner,” she says with a frown that reminds me so much of her father’s.
“I know, but I’ll feed you at home.”
“Is Brady coming?”
“No. Come on, and don’t sass me. I’m not in the mood.”
Daisy frowns, but she doesn’t say anything as I lead her to the car and help her get buckled in. I’m not usually short with my daughter like that, but I have to go before I break down into a sobbing mess and accept any help that the Wild family is willing to give me. Before I scream for Brady to hold me and tell me that everything is going to work out.
Because it’s not going to work out. I want to accept their help. I know that they all have more money than Janet and that they could squish her like a bug, but I don’t know how to depend on people like that. I’ve always depended on myself, and it’s time that I remember that.
We’re quiet in the car on the way into town, and once we’re in the house, I tell Daisy to go to her room and choose her favorite things to pack.
“No.” She watches me with wide, brown eyes. “No, Mama.”
My girl is smart, and she remembers more than I give her credit for.
“Baby, we have to go.” I don’t know what I’ll do about this house and the business, but I’ll figure it out when we get wherever we’re going.
“No.” She shakes her head, and tears fill her sweet eyes. “We need to stay . I don’t want to move again. Please don’t make us go. We have Brady. What about Brady?”
I close my eyes and sigh. I should have known better than to get too comfortable. To fall in love and let my daughter fall in love, too.
I’ve royally fucked all of this up.
“Daisy, I’m sorry. I’m so sorry my love, but it’s not safe for us here anymore.”
“Brady will protect us,” she says, propping her fists on her hips. “We’re safe with him.”
Before I can argue, the doorbell rings.
It has to be Brady. I don’t want to see him and have to tell him all over again that we can’t be together. It’s only going to make this so much harder. Jesus, I don’t know if I can recover from this.
With another heavy sigh, I walk to the door and open it.
“Oh, God.” Crazy eyes stare back at me.
“Where’s my daughter?”