Chapter Twenty-Eight
Tara pulled the curtains tightly together. She didn’t want a drop of light spilling out of her windows. The media had been perched on the lawn until Gage came and pushed them off the ranch’s property, but she feared one rogue reporter would sneak on the land from the open fields behind her house and pounce on her like prey.
She poured a glass of wine and curled up on the couch. Royce was tucked in for the night, and she could finally take a small and much-needed break.
The day had been as horrible as she had anticipated. The whole world now knew that Drew had beaten her and taken her child from her. She had shaken like a tree in a hurricane while she retold her story on the stand, but Karen Ryker sat in the seats, nodding and giving her the strength to go on. Tara had wished Kace was there too, but she had made sure that would not happen.
It was time to leave Ryker Ranch. She appreciated the support everyone had given her, but she couldn’t stay once Kace returned. He was everywhere on this ranch. She couldn’t survive knowing she could bump into him at any moment. He had made his choice. She couldn’t fault him for that, yet she did because she didn’t want him to get hurt worse than he already was.
The wine tasted bitter on her tongue, but it reminded her she was alive. Her hand instinctively went to her stomach. She had done the right thing today for her baby and Royce as well as for Jane Stapleton and every other woman who would think about dating Drew Paxton. She only regretted taking so long to be courageous. She wished she could tell Kace about what she had done. Nothing seemed to matter unless she could share it with him.
The wine made her eyelids heavy. She would sleep right on the couch, and in the morning, she would give Jett her notice. She wanted to be gone before Kace returned. Where she would go, she had no idea. But she needed to start over and find her place in the world.
Her phone vibrated against the coffee table. She resisted the urge to look and pulled the blanket off the back of the couch. Whoever it was could wait. She wanted to be alone and to maybe get some sleep. She was worn out.
But the phone continued to shake and rattle against the table.
“All right,” she said to the interruption. She slapped at the phone and hesitated when she read the name. She could let the call go to voicemail. He didn’t have to know she even saw the call.
But she had wanted to talk to him more than any other person today. “Hello?” Her voice was heavy with wine-induced sleep.
“Did I wake you?” His deep timbre rolled over the line and settled against her heart as if his voice alone could heal what was broken. She lay back down and pulled the blanket close.
“I was just getting ready for bed. What’s up?” She closed her eyes and imagined him curled up behind her with his arm draped over her and her butt pressed up against his groin.
“I missed you.” He slurred his words.
“Have you been drinking?”
“Not so much I don’t know what I’m saying. How are you?”
“I’m okay. How are you besides drunk?”
“Did you go to court today? I’ve been watching it on the news at night when I get back to the hotel.” He ignored her question, which made her believe he wasn’t feeling well.
If she had the energy, she would call him on his avoidance, but he had to live his own life. He knew what the risks were. “When I walked into the courtroom, Drew’s face turned red. He leaned over to his lawyer and started saying something in his ear. The lawyer—I don’t remember his name—put a hand on Drew’s chest and told him to simmer down.”
“You never told him you were testifying?”
“I didn’t think it was a good idea. I had only turned down his proposal. He’d been too busy with his defense after that to bother with Royce or me.” She had felt safe, actually. It probably had to do with living on the ranch. Having the Rykers within shouting distance gave her a sense of peace. She would have to make sure Drew couldn’t find her if he didn’t go to jail.
“What else happened?”
“I didn’t cry. I thought I would break down and weep, but I held my head up and told everyone.” She wished he had seen her reenact the night Drew changed her life. She had fisted her hands until her fingernails made pink moons in her palms. Every muscle in her body had tightened to a coil ready to break. For a second, the room had blurred, but she remembered to breathe.
“You were brave.”
“I was scared to death.”
“That’s brave, babe. Being scared shitless and doing it anyway.”
“Are you worried at all about the race tomorrow?” She leaned into the pet name for her. Other women would be furious to be called babe, but he said it with a sweetness on his tongue. A tongue that could do some amazing things.
“You know it’s tomorrow.”
“Yes. I’ve been watching you too. Are you worried?”
“Not me. I plan on winning. I just wanted to talk to you and tell you how proud I am of you.”
“Thank you. I should let you go sleep off whatever you’ve been drinking. I’m sure you need to be fresh for tomorrow. No accidents, okay?” As if he could promise that. She had watched the videos and read some of the blogs. Accidents happened at every race.
“Do you miss me?”
“I don’t think we should have this conversation.”
“Tell me. Yes or no.”
“What difference does it make? We both know you shouldn’t be driving. You’re going to hurt yourself permanently if you have a crash. I don’t want to be the one to get in the middle of your dream, but I can’t imagine a life without you in it. If we’re not together, then I can’t be responsible for your injuries or worse, your death.”
“I’m not going to die, and you don’t have to save me. I can save myself when I’m ready.”
“You don’t want to save yourself. You want to race and win at all costs. So go race. Be a big man and bring home that trophy. I won’t sit by and watch you do it. I love you too much.” She ended the call with a gasp.
She hadn’t meant to say that, and she hadn’t meant to fight with him, not the night before the race when he needed to be the most focused. Hearing his voice had been the first right thing in weeks since he left town. She wanted to hear his voice every night before she went to sleep, but she couldn’t live a life with him, knowing he’d allow himself to be hurt because he was too obtuse to ask for help. She understood the risks of racing, but racing with a concussion was something altogether different.
If he wanted to be pigheaded, he would be pigheaded alone. If he wanted her help to get better, she would gladly go to every doctor’s appointment with him and stand by his side until he was well again. All he had to do was ask.
She threw off the blanket and sat up. The wine sent a warm rush over her. She debated on calling him back but turned her phone off instead. She wanted to forget about the day filled with fear and even some redemption and start fresh in the morning on a new life that didn’t include this ranch or her past. She had earned a few hours of peace and was ready to take it.
She checked on Royce. He slept on his stomach with his cow tucked under his arm. She straightened the blankets around him before running water for a hot bath for herself and pouring another glass of wine.
As the steam filled the bathroom, she dropped eucalyptus oil into the water and let the clean scent clear her head. In her bedroom, she grabbed a book to keep her company while she soaked the tension from her aching muscles. Getting lost in someone else’s fictitious life would be a refreshing change.
A thud came from the laundry room. She froze in the hallway between her room and the bathroom. She had no weapon except the paperback, and little good it would do her. The sound could have come from outside, but it vibrated with a closeness that set her on edge.
“Who’s there?”
A reporter? A tree branch through the glass of the door that led to the outside? But then she would have heard shattering and not a thud as if someone fell.
She hesitated. She would need to get to Royce and then the front door. Or maybe her best bet would be to lock herself and Royce in his room and call for help. Her phone. Icy dread ran down her spine. She had left it turned off in the living room.
Nothing moved, not even her. No more sounds came from the laundry room. The bumping must have been all in her imagination. Stress had stretched her mind to the limit. She would grab her phone and keep it beside her on the tub. She had nothing to worry about. She was safe.
With the phone in her hand, she turned for the much-needed bath.
And came face-to-face with Drew.