42. Chapter 42
Chapter 42
Maci
I t’s the perfect night for a fire. The air is chilling quickly and the breeze from earlier has picked up, forcing the smoke away.
With a mug of coffee and a blanket, I settle into one of the chairs we placed around the new structure. Aside from being pressed against Sutton in his bed, this is the most serene I’ve been since Nana passed.
Pride fills my chest as I take in the change that’s already come to this beautiful space. I’m eager to share it with others. Mostly, I’d love to share it with Sutton, and I’d be lying if I said I’m not disappointed I haven’t heard from him yet. I know deciding to run my business from here and pivot the purpose of Nana’s house will breathe new life into the space. New life into me.
Despite not hearing its chime or feeling a vibration since Izzy and Leah left, I pull my phone from my back pocket and check the screen for notifications. Nothing.
I tell myself the worry I have is over the ranch and something happening to one of the animals. Sutton explained some of the risks when cows are delivering. Calves getting stuck, the uterus being delivered, and more. There are still several more who need to deliver over the weekend and into next week.
Truthfully though, I hope he’s not rethinking his admission. It felt genuine and he shows his love well, so I work to curb my insecurity. Unfortunately, he hurried out after his admission yesterday and both he and his dad were out late and up early, so we haven’t had a chance to talk.
My phone falls into my blanketed lap and my mind drifts off to what else I’ll change around the house, to distract myself. I’m excited to turn the loft area into a proper reading nook and explore the idea of the garage transforming into a photography studio.
An unidentified rumble in the distance catches my attention. It’s far enough away that I can’t decipher what it is, but that doesn’t stop me from narrowing my gaze and looking through the fire to aid my brain.
Maybe thunder. I wouldn’t know because I rarely, if ever, check the weather. Thunderstorms aren’t really a November thing in Texas, but maybe.
Maybe a motorcycle. It did seem to move.
To slow my accelerated heart, I remind myself that plenty of people ride. It doesn’t stop my brain from conjuring Colt’s image.
The sound has ceased and I continue to stare through the fire toward the street on the other side of the house. The backyard has a gentle downward slope, so from here the street is elevated and, thanks to the many trees in the front and lack of street lamps, completely cast in shadow.
When a quiet minute passes, I release a long breath and chastise myself for panicking.
You’re carrying, anyway.
One hand rubs gingerly across my stomach to confirm my gun is still in the hidden holster.
My phone ringing causes me to jump and I laugh at myself. Sutton.
“Hi, Cowboy.” Excitement floods my chest.
“Hey, Firecracker.” His warm voice is a balm to my soul. Comfort washes over me. “Still got time for a dirty rancher?”
“What kind of dirty are we talking? ”
His chuckle warms other parts of my body. “I’m up for anything.”
This time, I’m the one to chuckle. “Oh really?” He hums a response. “How far out are you?”
“Fifteen minutes.” Sutton’s response is met with crunching. I hold a breath. The two sounds don’t make sense together.
Movement catches my eye in the fire and that’s when several things become clear at once.
One. The crunching wasn’t coming from Sutton’s end of the line, but rather my gravel driveway.
Two. It was, in fact, a motorcycle previously.
Three. Colt is at my house.
Colt’s eyes hold pure malice. Looking solid black in the night, he moves toward me, quick and confident. This isn’t like Halloween. He isn’t toying with me this time.
I jump up from my seat, inadvertently flinging my mug into the side of the fire pit and my chair in the distance behind me. My fingers hurt from the grip I place on the phone. “Sutton.”
“Maci?” Thankfully, his use of my given name indicates that he understands we’re no longer playing.
“Colt is here.” I swallow hard.
“What the fuck? What does he—never mind.” The truck revving echoes through the line. “I’m on my way—”
“There’s no time for that.” Colt is almost to the firepit and certainly within hearing range. “Sutton, I’m not letting him take me. No matter what.” I hope he knows my intentions. “I love you.”
I disconnect the call and stand .
“No one’s here to help you, princess.” Colt’s tone is acidic. He stops moving a few feet on the side of the fire. The flames lick up the air between us.
I toss my phone onto my blanket at my feet. “I didn’t need help last time. What makes you think I’ll need help tonight?”
“You stupid bitch,” he spits. “You have no idea what you’re up against.”
Colt flips open a knife in one hand. The handle has a black and white depiction of the American flag. Markings cover the blade, but from my position it’s unclear what they are. “I should’ve killed you when I first had the chance.” His voice is low, loosely masked by the crackling of the logs between us.
“You forgot the part when I broke your nose.”
“Not Halloween.” His expression has gone smug and he shakes his head the tiniest bit. “Ten years ago.”
The blood in my veins turns to ice. My breathing stops and my lunch, however digested it may be, is threatening to come up. There’s no way.
“What did you say?” As they pass my lips, the words are barely a whisper. He may not even hear them.
“Not so smug now, are you, princess?” The tip of his knife meets his thigh and he twists the handle, spinning the tip.
Even though I told Sutton I would do whatever it takes, the idea of actually shooting Colt was a smoke screen. Some part of me still hoped that he’d realize he’s out of his element and tuck tail and leave again. Maybe in cuffs, but not in a body bag.
However, the way he’s spinning the knife with a large serrated blade, tells me the only way out at this point is with one or both of us being injured .
“Colt, I have no idea what you hoped to achieve ten years ago and I don’t know what you want now. But I need you to know I’m armed and I will shoot you if I have to.”
His laugh is dark. Wide eyes and skin taut around his mouth, his expression is somewhat manic. “ What I hoped to achieve .” His repetition of my words is mocking. “You were being a spoiled brat. Someone needed to show you that you don’t get everything you want. Instead, you stole my dad away.” The last part is the loudest, but it makes the least amount of sense.
“Stole your dad?” What the hell is he talking about? My eyes trace over the blades of grass surrounding my blanket and phone as I try to make sense of what he’s saying. “James?”
I’m fairly confident that’s not who he means, but nothing else is registering.
His eyes widen before a slimy grin takes over his face. “James is your dad?” He huffs a laugh. “Oh, that’s rich. I should’ve seen that coming.”
Now I’m even more confused. “If you’re not talking about James, then who are you talking about?”
Taking a step to one side of the fire pit, something I suspect he’s trying to camouflage, he inches closer to me. His gaze is lowered. Contrary to what he may believe, I’m not falling for his machinations. Countering, I lean my weight onto the opposite foot. Two can play this game.
“My dad. Alan.”
Bile floods my stomach. “Alan is your dad?”
Disgust and horror roil inside me and I’m doing nothing to hide it.
I had sex with my step-brother.
That may be a trope in some taboo romance book, but it’s not what I’m about. A new level of revulsion covers my skin and I want nothing more than to douse myself in bleach .
He laughs. “Yep. You’re a little slut who fucked her step-brother.” Pausing in movement, he adds, “If it makes you feel any better, I didn’t know who you were until much later.” His eyes gleam and he resumes his prowl around the pit. “But if I’d known, I would’ve gutted you in that alley instead.”
Tipping his head to one side, as if considering further, he adds, “After I fucked you raw.”
“Maybe if you had a blue pill in your pocket,” I spit. Many would argue that I shouldn’t be provoking him right now, but he makes it so hard to maintain my composure.
He pins me with a darkened look. “Care to test that theory?”
Side-stepping again, but not keeping as much space between us as I’d like, I slip my left hand under the hem of my shirt. It’s further from him, as he approaches on my right, but I want to limit movement in hopes of getting my gun out before he lunges. “No, thanks. Been there, done that. Don’t need the shirt.”
With a clenched jaw, he continues moving. “My dad told me not to fuck with you, but I couldn’t help myself.” Step . “He was furious when your bitch of a mother ran home telling him all about the crazy person in the parking lot. Granted, she thought it was that stupid gambling ring, but nope. It was me.” He smirks, proud of himself.
“To be fair,” step, “he wasn’t a great father even before your mom came around. Guess he thought I was a lost cause.” A step and a shrug. “But you were enough to cause him to cut me off. After he chewed my ass that night, I never heard from him again.”
I gape, still shuffling in the opposite direction. My fingers tease the handle of my gun, warmed from proximity to my skin. “I had no idea.” Once again, I’m trying to piece together bits of information with what I lived, myself. It still seems off somehow .
“You had no idea that while you were playing happy family with my dad, my mom and I were living in a shitty ass trailer park?” He smirks in disbelief. “Yeah, his gambling ruined my life, too.”
I shake my head, gripping the gun handle firmly. “No. It’s not what you think. He didn’t leave you for me. He hates me.”
Colt pauses in motion and I wonder for a moment if I’ve gotten through to him. For a split second, something wars in his eyes, but it’s gone as quick as it came.
“It doesn’t matter now. You’re still a stuck-up princess bitch.” He’s wielding the knife in wide, abstract circles. “I had hoped to have your cow-fucking rancher here to see me end you. Take him out after. He was so pissed after he saw your window.” He grins proudly. “But my patience has run out.”
I release the gun from the holster, holding it in front of me with one hand. “I warned you.”
He smiles wickedly, shifting his weight side-to-side, but so far not moving forward any further.
“Do not come any closer.”
“I hope you know how to use that thing, because if you don’t kill me with the first shot, I’ll make sure your death is slow and painful for my trouble.”
“You’d be surprised what I can do with either of our weapons.”
“Doubtful.” His weight shifts forward and back this time. “Don’t forget to take the safety off.”
Then he lunges.