Chapter Three
Thomas sat next to the woman and had to grit his teeth. The feel of her arm against his and the womanly scent made his cock ache. The drive to his house took about forty minutes, and he knew every minute would be harder than the last.
He watched the dog lie down with its head on the woman’s lap.
“What’s your name?” he asked.
“Scrappy.”
“I mean your real name, Sweetheart.”
“I ... I don’t use it.”
“Why?”
“Because it doesn’t belong to me.”
That confused him. “What does that mean?”
“I was given a name by the nuns when I was dropped off,” she said. “But it never fit me.”
He was getting more confused. “Who dropped you off?”
“They thought it was my mother, but they weren’t sure.”
“How old were you?”
He could tell the questions were making her anxious, but he needed to know everything he could about her.
“Between two and four.”
That shocked him. “They couldn’t tell?”
She shook her head. “I was always very small, but they said I talked a bit and walked fairly well. But I was also weak and thin because of malnutrition, which made it hard to tell.”
“Was the place an orphanage?”
“No. It was a convent. I was the only child. I lived with twelve nuns.”
Jesus, this woman had been through so much, and he guessed he didn’t know the half of it.
“I still want to know your name.”
“Angel. The nuns named me Angel,” she whispered.
He thought it fit her, but wasn’t going to say anything because he knew she wouldn’t believe it.
He opened his mouth to ask another question, but noticed she had gone to sleep with her head on top of the dog’s neck. He decided to leave her alone because he could tell she hadn’t got much sleep the night before, or maybe not for a long time.
His mind spun as he drove the rest of the way home. He was trying to figure out the best course of action to take with her. This was an experience he’d never had to deal with before, and he didn’t want to make a mistake that would send her running from him.
He slowed as they turned into his driveway. When he pulled up, he saw they’d already made Ranger, her horse, comfortable.
He parked and then turned to her. “Sweetheart, wake up.”
Her eyes flew open, and he caught the flare of fear in her eyes when she looked at him, before she remembered.
He cupped her chin and ignored the way she shied from him. “I need you to know something. I’d rather cut off my arm than hurt you in any way.”
Her expressive blue eyes widened dramatically.
“It’s true. You have nothing to worry about with me.”
She nodded slowly.
“Let’s get you settled. All right?”
She nodded again.
“Hold on, and I’ll come around to help you down,” he said.
He walked around and opened her door. Jaxx jumped down but stayed close.
Thomas helped unbuckle her seat belt when he saw her hands shaking. He lifted her down and kept his hands on her shoulders to steady her before releasing her.
“Would it be okay if one of my men took care of Jaxx? He’ll give him a bath and food and then let him get used to the other two ranch dogs we have.”
“Will I be able to have him with me inside?” she asked.
“No, Sweetheart. I’m sorry. Daisy is allergic to them, but you’ll be able to see him anytime you want. He won’t be lonely because he’ll have a bed with the others in one of the guys’ places. His name is David, and he is a dog lover. If I let him, he’d have a dozen here.”
“Oh, well. I think that’s fine.”
“Let me introduce you to him, and you can determine if he’d be okay,” Thomas said and whistled to get the man’s attention.
“Yes, Sir,” David said as he ran up to them.
“David, I’d like you to meet Angel and her dog Jaxx.”
David grinned. “It’s nice to meet you, ma’am.” He crouched. “It’s nice to meet you, too, Jaxx. I think you’re going to love the other dogs, Macey and Buddy.”
Thomas watched the expression on Angel’s face relax when Jaxx went right to David and let him pet him.
David chuckled. “Whew, boy, you need a good bath.”
Angel nodded. “Yes, he does. I couldn’t figure out how to do it where we were.”
“That’s no problem,” David said. “I have a big bathtub at my place. The next time you see him, he’ll be clean.”
“Thank you.”
Thomas squeezed her shoulder. “Why don’t you say goodbye to Jaxx for now?”
Angel nodded, knelt, and hugged the dog. “You be good for David.”
Jaxx licked the girl’s face, making her giggle.
Angel and he watched the dog follow David, and Thomas could tell Jaxx already trusted him.
He wanted to get the sad look off her face. “Would you like to see Ranger before we get you settled?” he asked, and loved the way her eyes lit up.
“Yes, please.”
He took her hand, which startled her, but she didn’t pull away.
“Hey, shouldn’t we grab my stuff?” she asked.
That made his teeth snap together. The garbage bag containing everything she owned made him angry, and he vowed to ensure she had everything she could ever want.
“No, we’ll get it on our way into the house.”
She did try to pull away then. “Wait. I can’t stay in the house. I thought I was just going to help the lady.”
He stopped and turned to her. “Why not?”
She shrugged. “Oh, well ... because I don’t belong. I’m better when I sleep in the barn.”
He sighed. “Sweetheart. We both have a lot to learn, but one thing I need you to understand is you’ll be part of the family, and you belong in the house with us.”
“But...”
He shook his head. He hated the look of fear on her face. “Everything will be okay.”
“But...” she tried again.
He cupped her cheek. “I need you to trust me. Trust that I will take care of you and not let anything happen to you.”
She stared up at him for a moment and then looked down, but she didn’t say anything further.
He let it go for the moment and took her hand again. He led her over to the fence in the small arena where they put new horses. It gave them a chance to meet some of the others over the fence until they got used to each other. It prevented the horses from fighting most of the time.
Ranger caught sight of the woman and pranced over with a happy whinny.
Angel climbed the fence and wrapped her arms around the horse’s head.
He could tell they both loved each other very much.
He listened as she talked to Ranger for a bit, and then watched as she stepped down from the fence and faced him.
“He’s happy,” she said and smiled.
“I hope so, Angel. We’ll do our very best to make this a home for all of you.”
A faint blush covered her face. “Can’t you call me Scrappy?”
“No, I can’t, because you’re not garbage.”
He caught the tears she blinked away and held out a hand to her. “Come on, Sweetheart. I want you to meet Daisy. She’s anxious to meet you.”
Angel took his hand. “Really?”
He smiled. “Yes. She’s the only woman in the place, so having you around will make her life not only easier but less lonely.”
He watched the small woman think about his words as she skipped next to him. They paused by the door to grab her things.
They stepped through the front door. He closed it before turning to her. “Can we take the hat off now?”
Her hands flew to her head, and he could see panic start to build.
He grasped her shoulder. “Why are you afraid?”
“Because my hair is sinful,” she whispered.
His brows snapped together. “Who the hell told you that?”
“Sister Mary. She was in charge of me most of the time. She wanted to chop it off when it got long, but Mother Teresa forbade it.”
Jesus. What the fuck had this little woman been through?
“Well, it will never be called sinful here. Nothing about you is bad. It might take a while for you to believe me, but I will continue to correct you if you put yourself down,” Thomas said.
Angel reluctantly reached up and pulled off her cap. Her hair was dark brown, and he couldn’t tell how long it was because she still had her braid down the back of her shirt. He stopped himself from going further because he could tell how uncomfortable she was.
“Let’s go meet Daisy, and then I’ll show you your room.”
Her eyes widened. “I get a room?”
“Yes, Sweetheart. And your own bathroom.”
Before she could say anything, he started to pull her toward the kitchen. He was more determined than ever to make sure this woman got everything she deserved and more.