Chapter 36 Heston
HESTON
I’m leaning back against the tailgate of my truck, watching his car drive up the lane. My relaxed posture is a stark contrast to the way I feel inside. I completely abandoned the shield I’ve been carefully holding over my old anger issues the moment Hattie brought me up to speed on the situation.
Tripp comes out of the bunkhouse, slams the door behind him, and jogs toward me. I’m staring at the cloud of dust behind Marcus’s car when he stops next to me with a hand on the top of the tailgate.
“Is Lucky still inside?” I ask.
“Yeah, she’s taking a nap on the recliner,” he says. “I hope you got more information than I did. Mesa and Sav gave me a quick rundown after you called.”
Instead of being frustrated that the girls have been keeping this little bombshell to themselves, I’m actually grateful.
Since I want nothing more than for Hattie to be a permanent fixture in my life, knowing she confided in the girls is a big deal.
It means they trust each other. Maybe she already feels as much a part of this family as I want her to be.
I have a feeling this won’t be the last time they huddle together and try to do damage control before telling us guys about a problem. Our solution methods tend to err on the extreme side, so I can’t blame them.
“I know enough,” I reply to Tripp. “Enough to want to wring this dude’s neck even more than I wanted to before.”
He chuckles. “Are you gonna do it?”
“Haven’t decided yet.”
Out of the corner of my eye, Hattie steps out of the stables. She doesn’t walk in our direction, but I didn’t expect her to. I could tell by the way her voice sounded that she was worried my involvement with this guy would make things worse.
Marcus parks his fancy car, but leaves it running. I have a good view from where I’m standing—far enough that I don’t accidentally kill him, but close enough for Hattie to ask for help with one look if she needs it.
Her strides are confident as she steps up to his driver’s side door and yanks it open. Her voice isn’t loud, but I can still make out the words as she leans forward to talk into the car.
“You can’t just show up here like this. Could you be any more rude and pushy? This has got to stop, Marcus.”
I don’t hear a reply from him, but Hattie leans away and takes three steps back. I stand up straight when Marcus exits the car and shuts the door.
“Oof,” Tripp mumbles. “He’s tall, I’ll give him that.”
Footsteps sound behind us as Warren and Gage approach my truck. I keep my eyes trained ahead as Warren crosses his arms on the other side of Tripp, and Gage leans an arm on the side of the truck bed next to me.
Marcus only flickers his gaze in our direction for a split second.
“This is great,” Gage says with an amused huff. “It was starting to get boring around here.”
“Boring is good,” Warren argues. “Boring means I don’t have to bail anyone out of fucking jail.”
Tripp waves his hand and makes a shushing sound. “Shut up, I can’t hear what he’s saying.”
I glare at Marcus, standing in front of her like he has any right to be that close. One glance, and he could easily count the faded freckles scattered over the bridge of her nose and apples of her cheeks. All one hundred and eighteen of them.
They’re arguing with hushed voices, and I can’t make out all of their words. Marcus lifts a hand to point at her chest, and Hattie smacks it away.
“Nice,” Tripp whispers.
I almost leave my spot when Marcus steps closer to Hattie, but a slight figure cuts into my line of sight as he rushes up to them. Being so fixated on the argument, I hadn’t even noticed Granger making his way over from the arena.
“Who the fuck are you?” he asks, stepping in between them.
Marcus ignores his question and shoves him in the chest. Gage flinches, and the only thing that keeps me from stepping in is the fact that Hattie is backing away from them.
I also want her to know that I trust her. I’m not going to stand back forever or let her get hurt, but she’s the most capable woman I’ve ever met.
If she needs me, she knows where to look. I’ll be standing right behind her until they put me in the ground.
Granger, on the other hand, might need some assistance. He’s grown on me, and now he’s defending my girl. I might care about him a little. Enough to keep him from getting knocked out, at least.
“We’re having a conversation,” Marcus spits. “Fuck off.”
“Fuck off?” Granger replies with a sly smirk, not cowering back in the slightest. He tilts his head. “You licked batteries when you were a kid, didn’t you?”
Marcus’s nostrils flare, and he shoves Granger a second time.
The kid nods after stumbling back. He looks like he might take it off the chin at first, but as he lifts his head and leans forward, his fist snaps to land a punch square on Marcus’s nose.
Hattie doesn’t gasp with her hands held over her mouth, or I’d have rushed over.
She puts her hands on her hips and lifts her chin as if to say he had it coming.
The loud crack is almost as cringeworthy as his grunt when his ass hits the gravel.
Gage slaps the top of the truck bed, then pushes off of it. “That’ll do it.”
He’s right behind me as I make my way to Marcus. Hattie and I make quick eye contact before I step up next to the sorry son of a bitch. He’s groaning and holding his nose as he sits up. I stand over him and look down with a cocked brow.
“That’s aggravated assault,” he says, pointing to Granger with a look of pure disgust. His voice comes out like a nasally whine.
“Sure,” I agree flatly and hold up my phone. “I’ll alert the authorities.”
“Well—I—“ His eyes narrow at me before he darts them around sporadically. “I need a doctor first.”
“How convenient for you,” Gage chimes in. “We’ve got one right inside.”
“I meant—“ Marcus brushes dust off his shirt and tries to scramble to his feet, but I don’t move out of his way. “I meant a real doctor at a civilized hospital.” He winces and applies more pressure to his nose, blood streaming down his face. “I’ll be calling my lawyer about this.”
“We’ve got one of those too,” Warren calls out.
“How many of you are there?” he complains, then scowls at Hattie. “I don’t know how you could willingly step foot in this god-awful place. It’s not safe.”
“Alright,” I say, hooking my hand under his elbow and dragging him to his feet. I shove him toward his car. “I’m sure you’re itching to leave, then.”
He stumbles toward the driver’s side door and fumbles over gripping the handle. I lean forward to open it for him.
“Don’t touch my car,” he seethes.
If he didn’t look so pathetic right now, I’d let my disdain blow right up into his face with another fist to the nose. He’s not even worth the effort.
“Marcus,” Hattie says before he climbs all the way into his seat. She rushes over and locks eyes with him. “I just want you to know that—”
She pushes her hair over her shoulder, and I can tell she’s hesitating a bit.
“Know what?” Marcus demands impatiently.
His tone hits a nerve as Hattie crosses her arms and sharpens her eyes. “You’re a real dickhead, you know that? Everyone knows your game, so the jig is up. Leave my family and me the hell alone.”
His face is so red that I think he might let out an animalistic roar. I’m far from scared of him, but the evil gleam in his eye is a bit concerning, if I’m honest. This dude is pissed and off his rocker.
Hattie is understandably upset, so she gives him one more dirty look before stepping around his car and marching toward the bunkhouse. I wasn’t going to tell her to leave, but a part of me is glad she did.
“I’m only going to say this once,” I state. Marcus flickers his beady eyes between my friends and me. I hold a tight grip on the top of his car door. “Don’t show up here ever again.”
He twists his face in disbelief. “Oh, please. What are you going to do, kill me? Get fucked.”
“Probably not,” Tripp answers for me, then juts his thumb toward Gage. “But he definitely will.”
I slam the door in his face before he has a chance to respond.