119. Forfeited
FORFEITED
LIVY
I’ve been dreading two moments. One is when I see Mr. Ranger again.
The other is when I’m finally alone with Layton. I have no idea which direction the latter could go.
Somewhere under that scruff is the man I knew.
“We’ll be back in a bit. I’m going to put Colt down for a nap and get some work done,” Emberleigh says as she clears plates from lunch and puts them in the dishwasher. “I’m a phone call away if you need anything.”
“Same,” Brighton adds, drying her hands on a dish towel. “Except the nap part.”
Braxton is silent, but tips the hat he just dropped onto his head. He lifts Colt into his arms as if his son belongs right there. “Say bye to Livy, Colt.”
He flaps his hands. “Bye bye.” As if he couldn’t steal my heart, he smacks his palm to his mouth and then throws me a kiss.
“Seriously?” Bright reaches up to tickle him. “You won’t give me one of those and you gave one to Livy. No more horses for you.”
No more horses for you? I’ve entered the twilight zone. I’ll take ‘things I’ve never heard before in my life’ for four hundred, Alex.
Layton and I get waves from everyone as they pile out the front door.
“Luna, you coming?” the dark-haired beauty asks her dog. Luna looks to Layton and sits. “Okay, then. Come back when you’re ready. Strait misses you.”
She heads out the door, leaving the beautiful lab mix inside. Luna walks to the table where Layton and I sit and slides to rest at his feet.
“Is Strait another dog?” I hope my question cuts the tension.
“Strait is my sister’s stallion. Luna has a special bond with him. Sola has the same with Chevalier.”
“I’m afraid I don’t understand any part of that last sentence.”
“I’m afraid I don’t understand why you’re here.”
Ouch. Brutal.
“That’s… Well, I’m on a medical leave of absence from the team. I can go back anytime. I had a compelling offer from a man who begged for help for his brother. Help that I can offer.”
“I—”
“Hold on.” I hold up my hand to him. “Let me finish. You did the right thing by me and for me on two different occasions. I had the opportunity to repay that and wanted to for you. If you want to be an ass and deny that, tell me now. I don’t have any desire to be somewhere I am not wanted.
I can go home very easily tonight and leave this place in my rearview. ”
I hold his gaze and wait.
He scratches his face through a red-brown beard. It is redder than his hair would indicate his scruff would be. He eyes me, moving his hand down to his chin above his Adam’s apple. It bobs once.
He leans backward, and his voice drops to a whisper. “You shouldn’t have come here.”
The ice that pushes through my veins is shame and embarrassment.
Here I risked it all, only to be rejected.
Thrown away.
Not enough. Again.
He pushes up from the table, moving around the dog sleeping at his feet, and takes two steps before I begin.
“I thought you were everything you showed me at the beach. I thought you were kind and funny, protective and charming. I thought you would fight for what you wanted and never quit on yourself. I had no idea that you surrendered so quickly. A man who accomplished what you did folding under the weight of something that you could easily beat.”
I stand and whirl on him.
“Life is tough, but you’re tougher. I hope one day you remember that.
I truly do. And remember this moment… when you forfeited the game of life, because you decided it wasn’t worth playing.
You quit before you got to the line of scrimmage.
Why? Because it’s going to be hard? Of course, it is.
Anything worth doing is.” I push my chair in and move to my crutches at the front door. “Goodbye, Layton.”
I almost make it past him when he grabs my arm and turns me. His hands grip my face, and he crushes his mouth to mine.
His kiss isn’t tender. It isn’t slow. It’s desperate, a clashing of tongues, lips, and teeth. The metallic taste of blood mixes with the perfect taste of Layton Ranger. The scruff of his beard scratches my chin and lips. His hands are a little too tight on my jaw.
When anger and desperation are overtaken by something else, he pulls back enough to hold my eyes. “Don’t give up on me, Pix.”
“Which one should I believe? That I shouldn’t have come or that you don’t want me to give up? Give me honesty here. I deserve it. Don’t play games with me.”
“You scare me. I’m not the man you knew.
I don’t know who I am anymore.” He looks between my eyes as one of his hands goes to my neck, and the other places one of my hands on his chest, covering it with his large palm.
His heart pounds below his shirt. “I cannot resist you and I’m terrified of hurting you. ”
I drop my head to his chest, not having words to respond. His hand at my neck runs down my spine, holding me to him.
“You’re too thin.” It’s not eloquent or even the right response to what he’s just shared. “And I’m scared of you hurting me, too, but I’m not afraid of who you are.”
He takes our joined hands and lifts my chin. He drops his lips to mine. This time in a tender moment.
Tender, that is, until the door opens, and a cacophony of sounds and a whirlwind of motion envelop us. Kyle barks, alerting us of a new person, the sound echoing off the walls and ceiling. He runs to sit between Layton and me and the man who’s just entered.
A fluffy dog barrels past Kyle and between Layton and me, nearly taking us to the floor since we have only two strong legs between us. Luna rushes to the door and to the man who stares as if I’m performing a sex act in public.
“Pop.” Layton rolls his shoulder, blocking me from his dad’s gaze.
“Layton.”
“This is Livy.” I turn in the circle of Layton’s arms, peering over his elbow.
“We’ve met.” The man walks toward us. “But it was under much different circumstances.” He extends a hand toward me. “Kimpton Ranger.”
My face flames, and I give up trying to look professional. I offer him my hand. “Livy Morgan, Mr. Ranger. It’s nice to see you again.” I point to the mass of dog who watches up close and personal. “This is Kyle.”
He offers the back of his hand to Kyle until my boy drops his nose under his palm and pops Kimp’s hand onto his head for a scratch. “Mr. Ranger was my father. Call me Kimp.”
A smile threatens my lips. “I’ve heard that somewhere before.”
Pop looks between me and Layton. “That’s surprising.”
“Really? I assumed every family has one child who is just a mini version of a parent. Layton isn’t the one that’s you, only younger?”
Layton scoffs, and Kimp retracts as if I’m way off base.
I know I hit a nerve but I don’t know if it’s because I’m so far from the truth or too close to it.
“I need to get off this leg. Mind if we sit?”
Layton turns me, ushering me toward the living room.
“I brought the Gator up, so if you want to, y’all have a way to get to the stables.
Looks like we may have a new addition this afternoon.
We have one foaling early.” He turns to the door but turns back and gives me a megawatt smile.
“I’m glad you’re here, Livy. I look forward to getting to know you. ”
He closes the door behind himself and clomps down the wooden stairs in his cowboy boots.
“Why do I feel like a teenager who just got busted by my parents?” I face the door, as if I can see Kimpton through it. The fluffy dog and Kyle circle each other, weaving around us and through us, until they come to an easy truce.
“Are you embarrassed?” Layton’s voice above me calls me back to him.
“I’m mortified. I’m thirty-one, and your dad just walked in on us.” I step back from Layton and cover my mouth with my hand.
“You’re older than me.”
I nod. “Oh, God. He probably wonders if I was after you in Florida. What must he think?”
“Knowing Pop? Probably that you’re cute and smart and that we’re into each other.” He looks me over to my feet before he looks at himself. “Do you want to go to the barn? The Gator should make it okay, but there could be some walking.”
Layton
I hold my breath as I wait for her reply.
“I have to look your dad in the face at some point. Might as well not stretch out that horror.” She looks at me and widens her golden-brown eyes almost comically.
“I’m game if you are, but I’ll need my crutches if we’re going to stand for a while.
And ice later. The tugging of the stitches has hit that painful, itchy time when I want to scratch and avoid touching at the same time. ”
I extend a hand toward the door before thinking twice about that.
“Hold on for a moment.” I hobble to my room, stuffing down all of my pride, and grab my walker.
I don’t know how long I can stand after today’s adventure on the stairs.
I find a tablet and let that do its magic.
I need it to kick in an hour ago. I’ve pushed way too hard for way too long today.
When I return to the door, she’s leaning on the back of the sofa, petting Sola as Luna and Kyle look on. “That’s Sola. He’s Brighton’s too.”
“He’s beautiful.” Turning to him, she adds, “Aren’t you now, boy?”
Kyle’s tail whips, and he lifts from his sit to stand and push between his mama and the object of her attention. “Jealous much? You know I’m yours, and you’re mine.”
“Want to go meet the horses, Kyle?” I offer before whistling. “Looney, Sola. Let’s go.”
I hold the door open for Livy as she crutches out of the house. Luna and Sola take off for the stables. Kyle looks back at Livy but follows the pups and is well ahead of us by the time I close the door. “You going to tell me what happened?”
“There’s not much to tell, really. Someone broke into my house. He had a knife and had attacked Kyle. I attacked the man. He tried to stab Kyle, and I did what I could to stop it. I used my leg to deflect the hit.”
I’m halfway down the stairs when I stop to look at her. “He stabbed you?” I see red. It’s just what I need to get down the rest of the stairs under my own steam.
She nods.
“Was it Tustin?”
“We don’t know who it was. I never saw his face and was too hurt to follow when he fled. The police and forensics went in later. Between my blood and Kyle’s, any the intruder left was nearly impossible to find. He was injured but he hasn’t shown at any hospital that I know of.”
I clench and unclench my fists. Between my blood and Kyle’s. “I’m sorry I wasn’t there to protect both of you.”
Her voice is soft and lulling as she offers, “You couldn’t have known. There was nothing either of us could’ve done to stop it.”
She’s right and she’s wrong. There’s nothing she could’ve done to stop it. But I would have moved heaven and earth to stop it. That is, had I been well enough to be there.
She won’t be in that position again. I’ll make sure of it.
I take her crutches as she gets settled into the passenger seat. I place them and my walker in the back of the Gator and climb behind the wheel. I turn the key and release the brake and freeze.
The world is white, and I’m floating.
“Layton. Layton.”
Fingers run through my beard and down my neck. “Layton, take a deep breath. If you can hear my voice, count back from four.”
Four. Three. Two. One.
I release a long exhale and look to the woman on my right. Tears glisten in her eyes. I say nothing. Nothing needs to be said. We’re both two kids in a mud puddle trying to clean each other up.