Chapter 32
CHAPTER 32
EMERSON
“Haven’t you ever wondered why Dad felt to blame? Why he could never love us the same after her passing? It’s because his father used details from the security contract he had with our family to try to blackmail Dad into laundering money for some big-ass clients of his.”
My breathing is labored, white noise buzzing in my ears as I blink soundlessly.
Easton’s voice drops to a rasp. “And when Dad took a stand, Mom was mysteriously killed the next day. A convenient hit-and-run driver who was never found.”
My blood turns to ice at Easton’s words, and I raise my eyes to find Ford’s. Confusion mars his brow as his chest rises and falls rapidly, understanding dawning on him before me.
His father’s the reason our mother’s not here.
Self-recrimination fills Ford’s gaze, and I know precisely what’s running through his mind. The demons that plague him surely rising to the forefront as they constantly threaten to. The inner battle this man wages with himself every single day.
And despite the painful knowledge that Jasper Holloway took yet another thing from me, I pivot on my heel, spearing my brother with eyes that only now see the real Easton.
The one embroiled in bitter hatred, the brother from my youth well and truly gone.
“The sins of one man are his alone.” My voice rings out clear and true, every person present hanging on my every word. “His family does not need to atone for choices that were not theirs. They are his victims, just as much as we are. Or are you too blinded by your own prejudice to see that?”
Easton’s face scrunches up in disbelief as he throws his hands up in exasperation. “Even faced with the truth, you still fall for his lies?—”
“He’s not the one who lied to me, East.” My voice is firm, my tone unwavering as I pierce him with a stare that dares him to continue. “That honor belongs solely to you .”
Then I give him my back once more and stride toward the Whispering Willows crew to slip my hand into Ford’s, squeezing reassuringly, knowing we’ll have time to talk it all out later, away from prying eyes.
“Let’s go home, Cowboy.”
As a unit, we all turn, every one of us moving to leave Rebels as a united front, even as Sutton reappears with a frown. “Where are you guys going?—”
Jesse grabs his sleeve with a stern whisper, making Sutton’s eyes fly open wide, almost comically. Both men join our exodus until Easton fires one last parting shot that might just be the straw that breaks the camel's back.
“Do me a favor, Holloway?”
Ford’s feet falter, and his shoulders bristle with barely coiled tension that threatens to spring free at any moment until Easton speaks again. His voice is tinged with smug satisfaction, which immediately sets my teeth on edge.
“Tell Fallon she’s good, but I’ve had better.”
FORD
I pinch my eyes closed, knowing full well this can only end badly for all involved as I mutter a defeated, “Aww shit !”
And just as I knew would happen, Sully pivots around and races toward Easton with the rest of the Whispering Willows crew on his heels. An almost war cry resounds as both ranch crews clash in the middle of the dance floor, and innocent patrons scatter to either rush inside, or to the relative safety of their cars.
“Stay here.”
My words are firm as I maneuver Emmy and Lissie to the side of the main stage before chasing after my old friend.
Sully is in the thick of the fray, a smirking Easton watching with his arms folded across his chest from a safe distance. Broken Hart men fill the space between us and their owner when he winks pointedly, his words having done what he set out to do. But I don’t have time to dwell on that when I narrowly avoid a punch to the temple.
Ducking down, I grab my assailant’s fist, twisting sharply before I push him back when I hear the satisfying crunch of bone snapping. He falls away, cradling his broken hand with a cry of pain.
Broken Hart’s ranch manager, Caleb, and a burly ranch hand I don’t recognize grab Sully from behind and hoist him onto the main stage, where he lands among the drum set with a reverberating clang. As they move to follow, a sharp scream to my right draws my attention, and I swing my eyes around, landing on the source of the sound.
A tall man I don’t recognize has Emmy slung over his shoulder. She’s pummeling his back while Lissie tries her hardest to stop him, but he’s too big.
“ Sonuvabitch !”
I spur into motion, ducking and weaving through the fracas, shielding blows left and right as I go. A red mist descends over my eyes as the desperate need to get to her in time flows through me.
My legs push me faster, and I reach them right as they pass the long bar that runs alongside the stage. I fist his hair with my right hand, deftly tugging Emmy from his shoulder with my left before bringing his face down on the wooden bar.
She drops to her feet, and in my peripheral, I can make out Lissie coming to her aid.
Her would-be assailant’s eyes roll back in his head, blood spurting from his nose as I grab him by the belt and the scruff of his neck. Then I hike him up onto the bar to run him the length of it, glasses and bottles smashing in his wake before I toss him off the end.
He’s lying there in a heap, trying and failing to stand, when a gleeful Sutton appears at my side. With a speed that belies his age, his hand snakes forward to smash an empty beer bottle over the guy’s head, and he crumples to the ground.
Jesse approaches, and he watches his grandfather with indulgent eyes as Sutton grins. “I’ve always wanted to do that!”
Emmy rushes into my arms, holding me tight around the waist with one arm as she pulls Lissie closer with the other. I quickly assess both women for damage, relief unfurling inside me when I see they’re both just fine.
Once I’m more at ease, I bury my nose in Emmy’s jasmine and rose-scented hair, and inhale deeply before planting a soft kiss on her forehead.
“You’re safe, baby,” I murmur for her ears alone before turning to Jesse. “Grab Faith from inside and get the girls outta here, Jess. I’ll gather this lot and follow after.”
Jesse nods, ushering both women and a reluctant Sutton toward the parking lot as I rejoin the melee. I quickly locate Lawson brawling with Caleb, attempting to keep him from bloodying Sully up any worse than he already is.
My old friend is still standing his ground against Caleb’s companion, but I swiftly dispatch him with a solid roundhouse kick to the jaw. He’s out cold before he hits the dirt, and Sully moves off to help Lawson, who, surprisingly, is more than holding his own.
I vaguely note a small gash on his brow, but it doesn’t appear too bad despite the blood, so I quickly scan the area for Easton. When I zero in on his back as he walks to his car, I jump from the main stage in pursuit, intent on making that bastard pay for the unnecessary pain he caused his own sister.
I pump my legs as fast as they’ll go, almost upon him when he swings around, a pistol pointed straight at me.
“If I were to pull this trigger here and now, she’d never even know it was me.” His eyes spew a malice that knocks the wind right out of me as he hisses, “And my family could be free from the stain of yours forever.”
He notches the trigger, tilting his head to regard me through slitted eyes. “You can’t tell me you—the heir apparent—knew nothing about Jasper Holloway’s dark deeds?—”
As I open my mouth to refute that statement, he cuts me off with a snarl, “You’re as goddamn guilty as he is.”
At the almost manic look in Easton’s eyes, I curse myself for running after him half-cocked. My entire body breaks out in a cold sweat as I stare down the barrel of my old friend’s gun. His eyes are filled with unfettered hatred, and I hold my breath, waiting on the bullet that’ll end it all before it’s really begun, when the sound of a shotgun racking reaches my ears.
We both look in the direction it came from, my eyes blowing wide when they land on Fallon. Her shotgun is leveled right at Easton’s head, not a hint of hesitancy in her slender frame, and he freezes as every ounce of triumph drains from his face.
“I’m gonna give you to the count of two, Easton Hart, to get your lyin’, schemin’, worthless ass outta my crosshairs.”
He swallows audibly, holding his hands up on either side of his head. “Don’t be like that, Fal?—”
“ One !”
The single word whips sharply through the air. Then she arches a dark eyebrow, daring him to test her bluff. “ Tw ?—”
“Okay, okay. I’m leaving.” With a clenched jaw, Easton swings around, racing off toward his midnight black convertible and peeling out of the parking lot like the hounds of hell are on his heels.
Fallon lowers her weapon, her gaze lifting hesitantly to mine before shifting off to her right.
“Thank you.” My tone is guttural, but the sentiment speaks volumes when she nods curtly, still refusing to meet my eyes. I step forward, pouring everything into my next words, needing to show my eldest sister just how sorry I am for leaving.
“I don’t expect you to forgive me for leaving, Fal.” Her body stiffens, but when she doesn’t move, I continue. “I was in a bad way after Dad’s arrest. I mean, I know we all were, but I blamed myself. With everything he taught me about the family business, how could I not have realized what he was doing? I was blind to his faults, and lives were taken. Innocent lives.”
She looks up at me with an unreadable expression, and I swallow roughly, then take a deep breath. “I needed to get my head on straight, and the only person I knew could do that was Emmy, so I went to her?—”
“Y’all were datin’?”
The first non-hostile words my sister speaks to me in five years make me chuckle despite myself. “Clearly, we did a good job keeping it quiet.”
When she doesn’t respond, I murmur, “When I was in Manhattan, I realized that I had no means of keeping the ranch going. I mean, Circle H had funded Whispering Willows for the previous twenty-some years. It had no income of its own, so initially, I used my computer skills to run small jobs off the grid. Before I could figure out what I was gonna do next…”
Easton’s revelations blew up my life.
Rather than mention my once-good friend, I go down a different route. “I found a job working security for a billionaire who paid me an obscene amount to run his club…among other things…”
Fallon regards me with a popped eyebrow and skeptical eyes before returning her gaze to the horizon, but I know she’s still listening, so I continue. “The…umm…the trial was rough. Some media outlets found out who I was, and that billionaire I mentioned helped protect me from as much of it as he could. He also made it so that Whispering Willows was pretty much unfindable. You probably have an issue getting UPS out here, right?”
From the thin set of her lips, I know I’m right. “I sent Momma every red cent I earned, and she used that to run the ranch.” Her back turns ramrod straight as she inhales sharply through her nostrils. “She told y’all it was her inheritance from Grandpa?—”
I can see her jaw clench despite the darkness shrouding us. “Why didn’t you just give us the money yourself?”
It’s my turn to arch a disbelieving brow. “Would you have allowed her to take it if you’d known where it came from?”
Silence hangs between us for a beat until she finally looks directly at me, blue eyes identical to the ones we share with our mother hold mine as she shrugs. “Look, I don’t have to like you very much right now, Fordy. But I’ll always love you.”
Then, as silently as she arrived, Fallon ducks into the shadows, leaving me with a hopeful heart even after the events of the evening.
As soon as Jesse made the call, a security detail swarmed Rebels, paying Riley handsomely for both the damage to her property and her silence, which she begrudgingly gave.
Our battered gang left Sully’s truck in the parking lot, grateful when Sutton insisted one of his drivers get us home safely.
The twenty-minute trip is filled entirely by Faith’s yammering as I mentally berate myself for letting my guard down way too far tonight until we get within spitting distance of the house, which is lit up despite the late hour.
We pile out of the SUV, and Momma appears on the porch, her smile of welcome fading as her eyes move over each one of us.
“What on God’s green earth happened to y’all?”
She descends the steps, reaching us to touch each individual present, ensuring we’re all whole and in one piece, albeit narrowly in some cases.
“Oh, poor, sweet Lawson. Look at that nasty head wound.” He winces dramatically when she touches the spot in question before she tuts and shakes her head. Then, ever the pragmatic, she dusts her hands off and sets down to business.
“Okay, into the kitchen. I’ll grab the first aid kit.” She looks to Faith, nodding emphatically. “The kettle is on the stove, and there’s fresh lava cake in the pantry, my love.”
Faith moves off to do her bidding, and we all follow, stopping when Fallon’s old beat-up truck, that she inherited from our grandpa, rumbles into the yard. She hops down and slings her shotgun over her shoulder as she passes.
“Fallon Eve Holloway, where were you till this hour and with that gun?”
My sister glances at our perplexed mother, fixing her with a deadpan look.
“Huntin’ gophers, Momma.”
She barely suppresses a grin as she mounts the porch steps ahead of us, ducking up the stairs without another word, and I’m filled with a bittersweet feeling of pride, seeing the fearless woman she’s grown to be.
“She’s not changed all that much, Fordy.”
Sully appears at my left, looking better than I’d have thought. The gash on his forehead has stopped bleeding and doesn’t look like it’ll need stitches despite the amount of dried-in blood. Aside from that, there’s only a swollen eye to show for his part in the brawl at Rebels.
I shake my head, watching everyone else disappear inside, my momma clucking over Lawson’s injuries like a mother hen. “I remember her being headstrong, but this version is something else entirely.”
“You’re witnessin’ the version she’s become in the aftermath of steppin’ up as the eldest of the household — and before you say a word, I know you sent Abi the money to run this place, but Ford, it takes more’n money.”
His eyes hold mine as he frowns heavily.
“Your sister made somethin’ outta this place through her blood, sweat, an’ tears. Maybe you swoopin’ back in after all this time away has her thinkin’ you’re here to take everythin’ she’s built. To take the very thing that’s given her purpose since your daddy was taken away. So, yeah…it might take time to get behind those sky-high walls she’s spent damn near her entire life buildin’, but once you get back there, it’ll be sweeter for the wait.”
His words weigh heavily on me as we walk inside, and Faith strides closer, taking one look at Sully before she points at a chair. “ Sit . That gash needs a Steri-Strip.”
While everyone else gets down to the task of tending wounds, Emmy catches my hand and leads me to the porch swing, where we settle ourselves underneath some blankets. She burrows in against my side as I loop my arm over her shoulder, pulling her closer to kiss the top of her head, her familiar scent a balm to my soul.
“Are you okay?”
Her soft question takes me by surprise, and I sit back as she looks up to meet my eyes.
“Am I okay?” She nods, her wide blue eyes overflowing with concern. “Emmy, I should be askin’ you if you’re okay. With everythin’ that happened tonight, with what your brother said?—”
“Well, knowing you the way I do, you just spent the entire car ride back here beating yourself up inside for allowing the clash in Rebels to happen in the first place.”
I tip my head to one side, regarding her with wide eyes. “That’s neither here nor there?—”
Suddenly, she pulls away, rising to her feet before straddling my lap. Her palms cup my face as her deeply intent eyes flicker between mine, and I know she sees everything I’m not saying.
All the fear. The anger. The regret. The grief . All of it.
And in this moment, I feel laid bare before this woman.
“And all that aside, there’s the matter of what my brother disclosed…”
I grimace as my chest clenches in agony, and Emmy sighs, brushing the pads of her thumbs over my cheekbones.
“Whatever the circumstances of my mom’s death, it was a tragedy. One that I grew to accept quickly, thanks at least in part to my age.”
Her smile is sad as she sighs wistfully.
“I was only ten years old when she went to work and never came back. Some days, I find it hard to remember what her face looked like when she laughed. And small details like the scent of her perfume or her vocal warm-ups before a show.”
My chest aches at the thought of what Emmy lost, at the hands of my damn father, no less, but before I can allow myself to shoulder the fault, Emmy spears me with a no-nonsense look.
“But I never once doubted her love for me. Her dedication to our family. I’ve always aspired to follow in her footsteps. To be just like her…like I know you wanted to be just like him .”
The painful honesty of her words cleaves a hole in my chest. Breathing feels difficult and, once again, I’m astonished at how deeply this woman understands me. How she knows my thoughts before I’ve worked through them myself.
“And when the truth of his duplicity came to light, your whole world imploded. That’s what you’ve lived with these last five years, Ford, as you’ve tried to find a way to reconcile yourself with who you think you want to be, who you already are …and who you’re afraid you’ll become.”
I clench my jaw so tight it aches.
“I know who you are. In your heart. And in all the ways that matter.” Her fingertips glide along my cheeks before she presses a gentle kiss to my lips, whispering, “I know you, Ford Holloway.”
She presses her forehead to mine, and her eyes never falter. Not once.
“But like you told Lissie earlier tonight, it’s all just words until you believe them. And I think the only way to find that belief is to face your fears head-on.”
And as her words sink in, I know that the time has come. I can put it off no longer.
“I need to set up a visit with my father.”
Her eyes light up as she nods, but before we can say another word, Finley bursts out onto the porch, waving her cell phone in her hand.
“What are you doing awake, Fin?—”
“There’s video footage of Rebels bein’ shared online.”
I snigger, assuming she’s talking about the brawl between the crews from Whispering Willows and Broken Hart, but she pins me with a stern look.
“You realize it’s footage of you two makin’ out, right?”
Emmy sits up straight, her eyes widening in shock as Finley giggles. “Sure looks like an award-winning performance if ever I saw one.”