Chapter 52
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The logical side of my brain understands why they left me here.
There is absolutely no reason for me to be involved.
Unfortunately, the logical side isn’t as loud as the other side. The louder side is pissed as hell, pacing the living room, and threatening mutiny.
The house feels too large when everyone else is gone. A fire crackles in the living room. A clock ticks somewhere behind me. Bear follows each lap I make past the windows, his nails clicking against the hardwood like he’s counting how long it takes me to lose my mind.
Javier sits on the couch in the living room reading Levi’s veterinary journal as if the entire world hasn’t gone sideways. Every few minutes, I glance at him, hoping he’ll suddenly be as antsy as I am and want to do something else.
He doesn’t.
Apparently, Levi’s academic journal on veterinary practices really is interesting like he claims.
“You’re wearing a path in the floor.”
I stop in my path. “Then at least he’ll develop a hobby. Renovations.”
Whipping out my phone, I tap on the most recently added contact and move to another room. It only rings a few times before the other end picks up.
“Hello,” ángel answers.
“Got room for company?”
ángel answers immediately. “Always.”
Bear grumbles at me as he watches me pace along the back window in the kitchen. “Plus one judgmental dog.”
“The boys leave you behind?” ángel assumes correctly.
“They left me under Javier’s supervision like a suspicious package.”
“I can hear you,” Javier hollers.
I peer out the back window. “I’m going crazy in this house.”
“I’ll pull out the bourbon.”
My shoulders relax at his answer.
“My kind of guy,” I return, the smile on my face evident in my tone. “I’m coming on Shadow.”
“I’ll also get the stable ready.”
“Thanks, ángel.”
“Any time, my dear.”
I lower my phone and find Javier watching me over the top of Levi's journal.
“ángel invited us over.”
Javier doesn’t look up from the journal. “Did he invite me?”
“He invited Bear. I assume you’re included by association.”
Javier gives me a look. “I don’t know if going is the best idea.”
Shoving my hands on my hips, I glare. "I'm letting you know, not because I need permission, but because I'd rather not sneak out." I throw on my winter gear and march out to the barn.
I’m entering the barn when I hear “Not without me!”
The smell of fresh-cut pine still lingers inside the new barn, but the last of the construction crew packed up two days ago. The scaffolding is gone. The sawhorses have disappeared. Even the muddy tire tracks left by their trucks have been swallowed beneath fresh snow.
Horses shifted contentedly behind polished pine doors, hay rustled beneath steady jaws, and warm golden light spilled across the aisle.
For weeks, the fire has been all I can see when I step through these doors.
Burned beams. Smoke. Ash.
Now it’s just a barn again, exactly as it should be.
By the time I have Shadow saddled and ready to go, Javier is waiting for me on top of his own horse.
“It’s been a long time since I raced someone like that,” Javier admits. “Better luck next time.”
I give Javier a side eye at the way he rubs salt into my wounds. “Why does that feel like a taunt?”
“I’ve been living the vaquero life since before you were born. I want you to feel like this is your home because Santi and those boys already do, but I never want you to show me up.”
“You really care about them, don’t you?”
“I’ve been loyal to this family since before Santiago was born. But if something were to happen to you while you’re on my watch, I won't live long enough to worry about losing my job.”
Shadow's ears flick lazily as she picks her way along the familiar trail. Fresh snow muffles every hoofbeat until it sounds as though we're floating instead of riding.
Javier rides beside me, every so often pointing toward something I've never noticed before.
A hawk's nest tucked into a cottonwood. Deer tracks crossing the creek. An old branding post that's probably older than both of us combined.
Maybe I've been too busy surviving to really see Falling Sky.
Or maybe I'm finally starting to belong here.
Determined not to be a thorn in Javier’s side, or at least no more than I already have been, I keep my mouth shut when the falling snow makes me shiver.
It’s my own damn fault for not wearing a thicker jacket.
Instead, I force my gaze over the landscape. I may have spent my childhood in Evergreen Falls, but I feel as if I’m seeing it for the first time.
Another snowflake lands on Shadow's mane as a deafening crack interrupts the stillness. The sound echoes through the trees, bouncing off the mountains until it seems to come from everywhere at once.
Shadow shies violently beneath me, and Javier's gelding rears.
"Javier?"
He doesn't answer. Instead, he slowly folds over the saddle horn.
My heart lurches into my throat. "Javier?"
He slides from the saddle and disappears into the snow with a heavy thud.
"No."
I don't remember hitting the ground. One second, I'm on Shadow, then the next I'm on my knees beside Javier, my gloves instantly turning slick with blood. "No, no, no..."
My hands shake as I press against his shoulder. "Javi, look at me."
His eyelids flutter.
He's alive. Thank God.
I yank my phone from my pocket.
No service.
I search for the smart thing to do when another sound reaches me.
An engine—deep and growing louder.
Relief floods my chest so fast it hurts.
Someone heard the shot.
I stagger to my feet, waving both arms. "Help!"
Headlights weave through the trees before a dark pickup bursts onto the path, tires crunching through fresh snow. The driver's door flies open, and a figure hops out.
Grant.
My shoulders drop a fraction, beyond grateful to see another human being.
"Grant!" I cry, running toward him before pointing back toward Javier. "Someone shot him. I don't have cell service."
Grant looks past me toward Javier lying in the snow. His face remains strangely calm. Then he sighs. "I'm sorry, Jelly Bean." He meets my eyes. “We have to leave him."
I stare. "What?"
"We’re leaving.”
"No!" I shake my head furiously. "We can help him!"
Grant takes one slow step closer. His voice never rises. "Not going to happen."
"No." I shake my head so hard my braid slaps against my coat. "No, we can get him into your truck. We just need to—"
His hand grips my wrist like a vice, a twinge of pain shooting up my arm.
“Grant, you’re hurting me.” I try to yank away. “Let go,” I grunt.
His touch feels wrong. Cold. Possessive.
Slowly, I look up at him. "Grant..."
His jaw tightens. “You did what I asked before, Jelly Bean.”
Confusion washes over me. “What are you talking about?”
“I told you to come back to Evergreen Falls.”
Is he…No, not Grant. No way.
His smile is heartbreakingly gentle. “I really hope you'll listen to me this time, too.”
My world tilts. “No...” I yank my wrist free and stumble backward toward Javier. “No!”
Grant sighs. "I was trying to do this the easy way."
Every instinct I have screams.
Run.
I turn, barely making it two steps before something crashes into me from behind and knocks the air from my lungs.
Strong arms wrap around my waist, wrenching me off my feet.
I scream. "Stop!"
He doesn't respond. He simply hauls me backward as though I weigh nothing.
I kick and thrash. My boots connect with his shin, and my elbow slams into his ribs.
He grunts, but his hold doesn’t loosen.
"Don't make this harder than it has to be."
"I hate you!"
"I know."
He opens the door to the backseat of the truck and tosses me inside.
Bear growls, sprinting forward and snapping his teeth at Grant.
When Bear gets close, Grant pulls a baseball bat out from the floor by my feet and swings.
“No!”
Tears stream down my face.
Bear falls to the snow, whimpering.
“Son of a bitch!” I shout and lunge for Grant, ready to make him bleed.
Before I can reach him, the door slams shut and the locks click.
My stomach drops.
No, no, no.
I scramble for the handle, but my hands grasp at air.
He ripped out the door handle.
When he hops into the driver’s seat, I pounce, but Grant is ready for me. He grips my hands and tugs, pulling me over the center console. Grants grips my hair and slams my head down onto the dashboard.
Pain rips through my skull.
My vision blurs, an abyss creeping in from the edges.
Unable to keep my eyes open any longer, darkness becomes my world.
The last thing I hear is Grant whispering into my ear, “I’m sorry I had to do this, but you need to know the truth.”