Chapter 20
Chapter Twenty
Tyler
"Tyler, if you don't stop standing over my shoulder, I'm going to kick you in the shin," Delaney threatens, not bothering to look up from her task at hand.
"I'm not standing over you, Laney," I lie. I’ve definitely been hovering this morning. What can I say? I don't want her ass bent over the flower beds, weeding and cleaning them out. It’s not that she can’t do it, but I prefer it if she were up at Maddox’s with Della.
At least then I know she’d be closer than she is here.
My place isn’t far from Maddox’s ranch house, only a few minutes, but still, she’s too far for my liking. It’s like a gut feeling I’ve got that’s bugging me. Other than the text messages she’s gotten, we haven’t heard or seen Philip. That doesn’t mean he couldn’t be up to something.
The past couple of days she’s been coming with me over to the barn only to go up to the house where she’s been working with Della on anything and everything that she needed help with.
The two of them seemed to enjoy being in each other’s company and working together.
I think it’s helped Della to have someone assisting her.
It took some of the stress off her. More than once when I checked on her, they’d been cackling like two teenage girls over boy bands.
Best of all, it seems Delaney has enjoyed doing all the things she’s been working on with Della.
She hasn’t seemed to worry about the rest of what’s going on around her.
Not the fire. Not the attack from Philip.
Not his constant texting her. Not even the school board meeting coming up. This has been good for her.
“I don’t need you standing over me while I pull weeds,” she insists.
“I know you don’t, but why aren’t you helping Della this morning?” I ask.
“I’m helping her later today. She’s going to come here instead when she finishes running her errands and doctor's appointment.”
Damn.
“All right, fine, but if you need me, just call. If I don’t answer, just reach out to Maddox, he’ll make sure to get me on the radio in case I’m in a spotty area.
” The ranch has several of those. It’s why we always carry backup radios as a precaution.
The last thing any of us needs is another incident like what happened to Della and the damn rattlesnake.
Besides, it's not like I don't have a mile-long list to get done. If I don’t get to work on it now, none of it will get knocked out of the way as it needs to.
“Thank you,” she remarks, glancing over her shoulder, a beautiful smile beaming my way.
Stepping directly behind her, I lean down and press a kiss to the side of her head. "If you need me, I'm only a call away. Okay?”
"Okay, I’m just going to work on these beds. They need some mums, don’t you think?” Delaney looks up at me in question.
"Sweetheart, I don’t know a damn thing about flowers.
You want to put mums in the beds, go right ahead.
We’ll go later to get some. But don’t go by yourself.
” I’m not ready for her to leave the ranch.
Not without me first dealing with Philip and seeing to it that he gets the message that she’s off limits.
“Okay.” She draws out the single word on a breath and lets out a sigh.
“I’ll check in in a bit,” I kiss her one last time and straighten. “Remember, just call me if you need anything."
"Will do," Delaney says with that smile of hers that makes my chest tighten.
I reluctantly step back, watching her for a moment before turning to leave. I make my way to my truck and climb up behind the wheel. I glance in Delaney’s direction while starting her up and backing up enough to turn around in my drive.
Turning toward the ranch, I press down on the gas, flying down the gravel a little faster than I should be, kicking up rocks as I go. In less than two minutes I’m parking near the barn and hopping out.
I slam my door, pocket my keys, and walk toward an ATV parked by a pasture where calves gather. Putting my mind on task isn’t as easy as it usually is. It’s not like I don’t know she’s safe at my place. I’ve got the cameras, and it’s not like we don’t have enough security around here as it is.
The security around here isn’t just at the gates or scattered around here and there. After what happened with Della and Dylan, everything was amped up. We all still feel the effects of that day like it was yesterday when Della sacrificed herself to save Amelia’s son from being kidnapped.
Since the merger with the MC, security on the ranch has been beefed up. Initially, I figured it was because of the incident involving Amelia's son, Dylan, and Della, but Della & Shadow will be moving out here too, and I'm sure without a doubt Shadow wants this place secure for his wife.
With all that happened months ago, things have changed immensely. Not just around the ranch. Though all of them for the better.
Maddox now has his woman and her son living with him. Having Amelia around seems to help my friend more than anything. After the shit they went through, he got his second chance with the woman that should have always been his.
With Della moved out and living at Shadow’s for the time being, it’ll only be a matter of time before the two of them extend their family.
In a way, that family is already extending.
Della and Shadow are expecting their first child.
She’s roughly two months further along than Delaney.
I know the two of them plan to build a place here on the ranch and have picked a location.
However, Della refuses to start building until after the dude ranch is complete.
I’ve heard more than one argument between the couple about it.
Shadow wants the house built, and the two of them settled in before the baby makes his or her appearance.
The thought brings me to one of my own. I'm going to have to figure out something for when the twins arrive.
My house is fine for now, but soon we'll outgrow it. There won't be enough room for everyone. I’d never put Lexy out. My home is her home. She’ll always have a place to lay her head under my roof.
Maybe I can talk to Maddox about building onto it, and making it bigger. Or maybe I need to look into finding a property close by that's big enough. Either way, I'm going to need to talk to him about it. I don't want to move away from here. I love where I’m at.
For the past several years, my house has been home to Dash and me.
It's where he learned to crawl and walk. Where he said his first words. There's a lot of firsts that have happened for us. Being here on this land, it’s special. A haven that gave us the reprieve I needed when I became a single parent and didn’t know how to handle everything.
I don't want to move away from here, but I'm going to have to figure something out.
Twins are going to be a big addition to our household.
Making it to the pasture, I count the calves all clustered together, fifteen.
Good. After what happened, I've started counting them. Thankfully today, most of them will be loaded up and taken to the arena for the Stock Show Auction. I refuse to let anything happen to these guys. Not all of them are going. Maddox decided we’d take ten of them to the auction instead of all of them.
Glancing past them, I look toward the cows that were pregnant. Again, not taking chances with them. We were even taking precautions with the heifers. They were just as important as the cows.
A smile tugs at my lips as the memory of last night lying in bed with Delaney pops to mind.
She’d been lying in my arms while I explained to her the difference between a heifer and a cow.
Delaney’s laughter is still fresh in my mind as she said, 'Well no one can call me a heifer anymore, I'm already knocked up, but I guess it means I'm a cow’.
My cock twitches at the replay of what happened after those words left her mouth. I’d taken my time with her sweet, delectable body. Showing her in no way was she to ever compare herself to cattle. It doesn't matter how big she gets, she'll be beautiful to me.
A shout breaks me from my thoughts. Turning, I spot Maddox waving from the edge of the pasture.
"Tyler! Need you at the main house. The Sheriff's here to see you!" he calls out.
"Be right there!" I holler back, already striding toward the fence.
My mind races with all the reasons the Sheriff could be coming to the ranch to see me. Out of everything that would bring him out here, I know it has to be about one person above all others. Megan. The very thought of her has ice flowing through my veins.
As I approach the main house, I spot the Sheriff's SUV parked right out front. Maddox is already waiting on the porch with Sheriff Holloway, his expression unreadable. Not a good sign. The fact that it's the Sheriff, not one of his deputies, twists my gut. The Sheriff doesn’t make house calls unless it’s an emergency or something that requires him instead of being assigned to those under him.
"What's going on?" I ask, taking the porch steps two at a time.
"Did you receive a call from the school?" Sheriff Holloway asks, eyes on me.
I pull out my phone, seeing I don't have any missed calls, but that doesn't mean someone didn't try calling and I didn't have a signal. It’s a common thing around the ranch. It can be pretty spotty at times. But I hadn’t been out to those spots yet. I only just started the day.
"No, but you know how it is out here, Holloway. Signal ain't always the best," I tell him, shoving my phone back in my pocket, my gut twisting. "Did something happen to Dash?"
Sheriff Holloway nods grimly. "Got a call from the school.
Your ex, Megan Henderson, went to pick him up, and she refused to leave without him until the school called us.
The principal informed my deputies and me that there was an altercation where she claimed she had the right to pick her son up as his mother. "
I clench my teeth at the news while taking a breath.
"Now, you and I both know she's not allowed near him.
Not with the TPO in place. You did the right thing by making the school aware of this and giving them a copy.
Even without that, they wouldn't have given him to her without not just verifying her ID, but also she has to be on the pick-up list you gave them. "
I nod in agreement. I did know all of this.
"She took off before you got there?" I snarl, making sure I heard him right.
"Unfortunately, she was gone before we got there.
However, now that she's pulled this stunt, after evading us for a week now, we'll be issuing a warrant for her arrest for not only violating her PO, but running from law enforcement as well.
I've already contacted her probation officer.
She'll be going back to prison once we find her. "
I let out a heavy breath, some weight I'd been carrying falling away. Megan will be going back to prison.
"First, we have to find her." Sheriff Holloway grunts, deflating the hope I was starting to feel. "Do you know where she might be?"
"Honestly?" I give him a look of question that he nods to. "I don't know where she'd go or with who. I've done everything I can to protect my son from her and keep him away from her. He's all that matters in this."
"I understand," he agrees and sighs. "When we have her in custody, I'll give you a call."
"I'd appreciate it." I nod and stretch a hand out to him. He takes mine, shakes it, and heads back to his SUV.
"Bitch tried to take my son from school," I mutter more to myself than anyone, but Maddox steps to my side. He crosses his arms over his chest.
“It’s only a matter of time before they find her, and when they do, she’ll be out of your hair once and for all.”
"I'm gonna go get Dash." There's no way I can leave him there the rest of the day without worrying. This couldn’t happen at a worse time, not after just days ago of me getting into it with Maddox.
Again, my personal life is getting in the way of my work.
But my son is more important than anything else, even my job.
The time frame of how long it'll take me to get to him is already swirling through my head. "I know I need to get shit done around here. I’m not trying to be a slack ass, but I have to know for myself he’s safe."
Maddox isn’t quick to respond, then he finally nods. "Go get your son.”
"Thanks, Mad." I turn on my heel, already pulling my keys from my pocket.
I jump into my truck and start it. Putting it in gear, I circle and head back down the lane. Gravel flies behind me as I speed down the lane. I need to get to Dash, but first, I’m picking up the one person who can calm me right now.
Turning back to my house, I find her still on her knees in the flowerbeds. I come to a stop and throw my truck in park, slamming my door open.
Delaney’s eyes come to me as she stands. “Everything okay?” she asks, watching me closely, her brow furrowing with concern as she takes in my expression.
“No,” I tell her, shaking my head. “We need to go.” My mind races with scenarios of what Megan might do next.
She's always been unpredictable, which makes her dangerous.
I should have known she'd try something like this—showing up at the school, trying to take Dash. She’s already proven that a restraining order means nothing to her.
“What happened?” she asks, already moving toward me.
"Sheriff Holloway just left. I'm heading to town to get Dash from school."
"Okay, let's go," she says, brushing her hands off on her jeans.
I nod and help her up into the passenger seat.
My mind is all over the place. However, one thing about this woman that’s clear is she adores my son and will do anything for him without question.
I hadn't even told her what happened, and yet as soon as I tell her I need to go get my son, she doesn't hesitate or question me about it. Just says, 'let's go'.
In times like this, I realize more and more about her and why she draws me in. It’s that part of her that calms me. She’s selfless. Caring. She doesn’t question things in times like this. Not right away, not when she can see that I’m fucked in the head.
All that is her, and she’s got me falling more each day that passes. Hell, I’m more than falling, I’m already there.