Chapter 20
His hammer hit the flat piece of steel with enough force that sparks flew from all sides. Molding the shoes for each individual horse and hoof took strength and time. Justin made each set of shoes by hand for each client. When he wasn’t trimming hooves and fitting shoes, he was making them in the shop he built next to his own barn. He took time out each week to run or lift weights, but what really released the endorphins was forging shoes—one by one, swinging his hammer. It felt better, sort of like a punching bag, but more Viking era, back when all men had were their axes.
He still hadn’t mentioned his conversation with Blythe to her uncle, but that didn’t mean it wasn’t eating him alive from the inside out.
He needed more time with her. They hadn’t had a serious conversation in days. The girls would be going back to school soon, and he was hopeful she would have more time to give once they did. Addie had mentioned that Blythe said she wasn’t going back to Chicago. Damn right, she wasn’t. If she felt bad staying with Chris and the girls, he would haul her tight little ass back to his place—permanently.
He only had a few more pieces to bend and mold around his anvil before he was finished. He was fitting shoes for the horses at Silo Springs again. It was a never-ending cycle and process. There were so many of them. He’d brought the shoes in standard shape that morning when he arrived at the ranch. Once he was able to compare shoe to hoof, he could alter them accordingly. He had everything he needed, including a portable forge in the back of his truck.
Blythe wanted to believe things weren’t as serious as they were, but only a man truly knew another man, and this fucking asshole was bad news. Justin lived through hell at the hand of an abusive father. He could see red flags walking a mile away.
“How’s it going?” Chris wasn’t old enough to actually be his father, but he was the closest thing he had to one, and the man he admired and looked up to the most. The bro hug was their usual greeting, and their bond was the best.
“I’ve got shoes for Doris, Delilah, and Fred. Is Blythe hanging around by chance?”
“You mean the woman you’re about to haul off and marry? Yeah, she’s out back with the girls.” Chris had a shit-eating grin plastered on his smug mug. He was a star student in wise-assery. If he didn’t tease you, he didn’t love you.
Justin knuckle-punched his shoulder, and Chris chuckled as he moved on to do whatever he needed to elsewhere. Justin started removing old shoes and prepping for new ones. There was a whole process to it—trimming, filing, polishing. You could do it fast and shitty, or you could do it quick and smart. Either way, you had to do it with some level of speed. Taking all day with these animals wasn’t an option.
He was a couple hours in and about to move onto Fred. He took Delilah’s foot off the stand and patted her neck gently, rubbing her nose with his opposite hand.
“I love how you treat them like people.” Blythe was walking into the barn, looking like a ray of sunshine with waves of red falling over her shoulders. The woman literally floated when she walked. How she didn’t recognize the undeniable beauty she was blew his mind.
“Hey, sugar…” His voice was low with a hint of playfulness lining his words. When she reached him, her arms came around his middle, wrapping him in a hug that felt like a cozy blanket.
“I’ve missed you,” she sighed as she relaxed into him.
“Blythe…” He had to do it, even if she didn’t like it. “We need to tell your uncle.”
She pulled away, and he saw her mulling it over. He didn’t need to clarify. She knew what he was referring to.
“I know the creep sent texts, but is there anything else I need to know about?”
She pulled her lip between her teeth before confessing. “When I walked out to get in my car yesterday, there was a rose lying on the hood. A random rose, no note. I looked around, but it was just me. There aren’t any roses planted around the ranch, and even when my mind suggested it might be from you, I knew you wouldn’t do it that way.” She put her hands in her pockets and looked over her shoulder. “When I was hiding in my apartment after Max blew up at me, he sent me roses—lots of them.”
Justin felt rage and fear engulf him all at once.
“Does he know about this place?” His hands came up to her face, holding each side. “What about your parents? Do they know where you’re at?”
“No. I don’t speak to them anymore. We cut ties when I graduated high school and started waitressing. They didn’t approve, and I decided to make my own way without them. It’s how I met him… He was a regular at the restaurant I worked for. He would ask for me every time he came. Eventually, he asked me out. I said yes, we got engaged within two weeks, and you basically know the rest. He was always controlling—everything I did, wore, said, was under his microscope. At the time, I thought it was endearing.” She huffed a sigh. “Now, I know he’s probably insane, and I don’t know what to do.” Her voice cracked and tears started to spill over onto her cheeks.
Justin kissed her forehead and pulled her close. “We’re going inside right now. I can finish shoeing Fred later. Chris needs to know.”
Justin stood by as Blythe started at the beginning and didn’t miss a single detail. She told them about her first conversation with Max. The way he treated her and everything surrounding their engagement. Justin looked at Chris, who lifted his arm above his head, puffed out his cheeks and let out a gallon of air as he lowered his hand over his face and stroked his beard. His eyes drilled hard into his niece.
“Well, this would’ve been nice to know earlier.” A sarcastic chuckle escaped his chest. “It’s a good thing I love you, Lythie.”
“I’m sorry. I really didn’t think he’d do anything. I thought I would leave Chicago and he’d forget about me and move on. He was angry at me, anyway, and he could have a hundred women salivating at his feet if he wanted. If not for his looks, for his stupid money.”
Justin laid his hands on her shoulders and turned her to face him.
“Remember how you joked the first day we met about me taking you into the barn and pulling some Criminal Minds shit?” She nodded. “Well, this is some real Criminal Minds shit.”
Chris pulled out his phone and started to make some calls. “What did the texts say?” Blythe gave him the messages word for word, and he wrote them down. Justin held Blythe as they waited for Chris to finish.
“Okay, my buddies who deal with guys like—what's his name?”
“Maxwell Harri?—”
“The jackass sociopath,” he finished for her. “They say it’s a waiting game. He could do something legitimate, or he could just be trying to mess with you. Either way, I am assigning bunk boys to take turns watching the house in shifts. Not only do I have you to worry about, I’ve got the girls. Anyone who drives down our road will either have an invitation, an appointment, or they won’t make it past whoever is assigned watch.”
Justin felt some relief, but also didn’t at the same time. No crime had been committed, and life was going to go on as usual, just with a little extra precaution.
He released her from his arms, and Blythe shifted to face her uncle. “Thank you. I’m sorry I brought this mess with me. I really didn’t mean to.”
Chris reached out and squeezed her tight, his lips brushing her hair.
“You didn’t know. I’m glad you left and came here—now you’re safe.”
BLYTHE
Moving forward, someone watched the property around the clock—but nothing happened, and no one suspicious came around. Blythe was beginning to think it was all what she initially thought, just a game. Everyone still remained cautious and alert, but relaxed back into a normal routine.
August came, and Addie and Evie went back to school, which meant Blythe could go house hunting. She had good credit and was coming up on her twenty-first birthday. It would be a gift to herself. She didn’t know if buying was an option, but renting certainly would be. The town was small, so her options would be limited, but in small towns it was all about who you knew, anyway.
Chris gave her the numbers of a few people he knew that were trying to rent out their property or a piece of it. He’d initially fought her on moving out. He said they had enough room, and the girls loved her there.
“I will be around all the time. This is about me, not you. I need to do things on my own.”
Chris begrudgingly halted his protests. She’d saved most of her wages over the last two-ish months—her own little nest egg just begging to be utilized.