7. Rosie
“What are you really doing here, Dixon?”
His voice is deep and intimidating, but the one thing I learned from my father is not to back down from a bulldog. Staring them down is the best defense.
I level him with half-lidded eyes. “I’m here to fix your ugly-ass face. You gonna let me do that or nah?”
The corner of his mouth twitches up, almost like he’s stopping himself from smiling. He leans back against the chair, but doesn’t close his eyes.
Trying to stop my hands from trembling, I lean forward with the needle and thread. He stares at my face as I stick the needle into his skin and doesn’t react to the pain.
I try to keep my breathing steady as I work on him, doing my best to make each stitch even and close to the cut to reduce the size of the inevitable scar.
“It’ll scar. You can use vitamin E oil on it while it’s healing to help the skin look smoother.”
“Doesn’t matter.”
Somehow, the imaginary picture I conjure up in my head of Holden Redford’s already ruggedly handsome face with a scar on his jawline makes him impossibly—and annoyingly—hotter.
The walls in the bathroom are starting to feel like they’re shrinking around us. The temperature is growing warmer, and my tank top is sticking to my lower back. I stand up straight, unzip my hoodie, and shrug it off my shoulders. I toss it on the sink before leaning back down to continue working.
“Still trying to seduce me?”
I roll my eyes. “You wish.” I thread the needle through his face, leaning in closer to see. “Now that Madi’s whole scheme has come to light, Dolly will never forgive you if y’all hook up again.”
“I never had any intention of hooking up with her again.”
“Well then, should we alert the media to announce to the females of La Pradera that they’re free to start lining up outside your bedroom door?” My voice drips with sarcasm.
“Are you suggesting that I’m a man-whore?”
I snort, meeting his steely gaze for a moment before focusing on the wound again.
Yes.
“I’m suggesting you haven’t been with a woman in years, and judging by your habits before you went to prison, you’ll most likely be looking for a female companion to warm your bed again soon.”
“I’ve got more important things to do for the ranch. Why don’t you find me one? I prefer blondes and brunettes.”
I flip my copper-red hair over my shoulder, wishing someone would crank up the AC even though it’s in the forties outside.
“That’s not in my job description. Sorry for the inconvenience, sir.”
He pauses for a few beats before responding, “Too bad I love my little brother, or I’d just borrow you every once in a while. The convenience of your employment would be nice. You could strip the bed when we were done and wash my sheets.”
I clench my jaw, shoving the needle unnecessarily deeper into his face. He inhales a sharp gulp of oxygen.
So, since I dated Duke, I’m damaged goods now?
Not that I give a shit what Holden thinks either way, but still … rude.
“I repeat, it’s not in my job description.” I lean back, searching for the scissors because I’m finally done with the arduous task of sewing up his face. I snip the thread before slowly tying it into a double knot.
“Wouldn’t matter either way. I don’t dip my pen in the family ink.” He stands up and walks out of the bathroom without so much as a thank-you.
“You’re welcome, dick,” I mumble.
That’s two thank-yous he owes me now.
It’s not that I want to date Holden or for him to see me as the grown woman I am now, but the fact that he’s made it abundantly clear he would never entertain me as a romantic—or even strictly sexual—partner still stings for some mysterious and frustrating reason.
The days drag on,and out of nowhere, Thanksgiving is coming up. With my family relationships in shambles, I have no intention of going home for the holiday.
My mother hasn’t even texted me to ask what my plans are. Sadly, I think she’s probably been too in and out of a drunken stupor to even notice the date. I’ve called her a few times. The last time we spoke, she was in Oklahoma, visiting her sister, so at least I know she hasn’t been completely alone.
I haven’t talked to my father in months, and I have no desire to see him. I have a few missed calls from him. I have no desire to return them.
When my uncle Cain, my father’s brother, was first shot and killed, I stuck by my father’s side and grieved with him. After I learned the truth about what had really happened the night Holden killed Cain, I quit nursing school and moved out of the family mansion. My father had been paying for my school, but I decided I’d rather drown in student loans than take another dime of his money.
“Are you in the mood for romance or comedy?” Dolly asks, reaching for the remote.
“Your choice.” I pop a piece of popcorn into my mouth.
We call Friday nights braless Fridays. We binge guilty-pleasure movies, eat high-calorie food, and drink wine in our pajamas, no bras allowed. Sometimes, Dolly comes over to my apartment when we want a true girls-only night, but in the winter, it’s drafty and cold. It’s hard to beat the warmth and crackle of a real wood fire, even with the occasional testosterone-filled interruption.
“You remember that night … when everything happened?”
Dolly’s words cause the hair on my arms to stand up. She rarely talks about the night everything changed. It took her months to confess to me what had really transpired in the darkness, all while the trial was still going on and our friendship had gone up in flames. She patched it back together when she told me her side of the story.
“I don’t think I’ll ever forget that night,” I say quietly.
She lays her head back, her face devoid of makeup and her glasses perched on the end of her cute nose. She’s mindlessly scrolling through the Romance Movies tab. The fire is glowing orange on her smooth skin, the sun fully set now.
“I thought Cain really liked me. I wanted to … date him.”
I stare at her, trying to keep my expression from revealing the shock coursing through me.
After a few long seconds, I finally speak. “But I thought he?—”
She nods. “He did. He did force himself on me, but at first, we were just talking, laughing … flirting. When he showed up at the ranch that night, that’s what I thought it was about. I thought he was going to ask me out on a date or for my number. We’d seen each other at the grocery store that day. He told me how pretty I was, how much he liked my long, dark hair. He was so charming.”
My heart is thumping loudly inside my chest as I listen to her tell me a part of the story that I’ve never heard before.
My uncle Cain was incredibly charming. He was always popular among women.
Holden shot my uncle because he caught him trying to rape Dolly. He had his pants down, dick out, starting to rip her clothes off. She was screaming for help. Holden found them, stopped Cain, and shot him with his pistol. He didn’t give him a chance for a trial or conviction. He took matters into his own hands and acted as judge, jury, and executioner. Cain was also carrying a weapon, which Holden testified he’d aimed at him. Dolly confirmed seeing it happen with her own eyes. Holden had told him to lower the gun, but Cain had refused to, cocking it to prepare to fire.
My father did everything he could to get Holden behind bars for killing his brother.
Holden was charged with second-degree manslaughter because it wasn’t preplanned. The first-degree murder charges weren’t able to stick because Holden’s lawyer claimed the gun was fired in self-defense, and the jury agreed due to Dolly’s testimony.
My ears are hot as I look over at Dolly again. “Why didn’t you tell me?”
She shrugs, chewing on her bottom lip. “I’ve never told anyone. I was afraid Holden would get a worse sentence if I did.”
The way she’s casually still scrolling through the movie choices after dropping this on me is confusing me. My world is spinning.
“So then … how did it end up getting to the point that it did?”
She exhales, taking a slow sip of her wine before answering. “He tried to kiss me. I backed away … and then his face changed. He got annoyed and tried again. I tried to laugh it off, but my heart was pounding with fear. I told him we should at least go on a date first. I guess it just pissed him off. I don’t know.” She turns to look at me.
I know she’s telling the truth. She wouldn’t lie to me. I’m completely blown away, finding out that she left that whole part of the story out. She testified that Cain just showed up, unannounced; they started having a casual conversation, and then he forced himself on her before Holden showed up. I guess it’s still the truth, but it certainly wasn’t the whole story.
“I’m so sorry, Dolly. I’m so sorry for what he did. I’m sorry that … you liked him and he treated you that way.” I can’t imagine how it’s affected her mentally. I’ve seen her struggle emotionally ever since the traumatic day that she was nearly raped and then watched her brother kill a man before her eyes.
But for her to have liked him, trusted him?
I shake my head.
She nods, wiping a tear from her cheek. “Don’t tell anyone, okay? I just want to move on from it.”
I nod. “Of course not. It’s our secret.”
My heart swells with emotion with the realization that she trusts me with this huge secret. A secret that could change a lot of things.
I wrap my arms around her slim shoulders, pulling her in for a tight hug. “Have you picked a movie yet?”
“Yes, we’re rewatching Pretty Woman.”
“Perfect.”
I lay my head on her shoulder, and she presses play.