Chapter 29
CHAPTER 29
GRIFF
P arker had been seeing a therapist for two weeks, and while he said he was fine, he was quieter, and Troy said he was hesitating when he went into his bedroom alone at his place and Troy had taken to sleeping on the floor in Parker’s room to make sure he felt safe. My heart ached for the boy and I constantly tried to figure out how I could help him.
For Parker’s sake, Troy had moved back to the place he had been living prior to moving to the Hays ranch, and that eased his mind and he was able to feel comfortable again. Troy and I talked about building a new house on his ranch and as soon as he got the go-ahead, I was happy to watch that shack be bulldozed to the ground. Too much heartache had happened there for it to ever be a home for anyone.
“Parker, the bus is on its way,” I called as I put the lunch bag in his backpack and zipped it up. His thundering footsteps down the hallway made me chuckle to myself. “Hey, I wanted to tell you something,” Elle said before he could get out the door.
Parker hopped onto the stool at the island and looked at me. “So Doctor Jake offered me a job and I decided I’d take it. I start today.”
“What does that mean?” He asked before he downed the rest of his orange juice.
“I’ll work during his office hours, have weekends off, no more shift work.” She shrugged.
“Will you be home for supper?” He asked as he got off the stool and headed for the door.
“Yeah, I will.”
“Awesome.” His smile lit up the room and even if he was keeping his feelings to himself, I loved seeing the happiness on his face. I looked over at Elle and smiled as I handed him his backpack. “Thanks, Griff, I’ll see you after school.” He flung his bag over his shoulder and ran out the door. Following him, I watched him get on the bus, and I closed the door behind him. I was sure he’d leave the door open in the middle of winter when he was in a rush.
“Well, I don’t want to be late for my first day.” Elle rolled up on her tip-toes and kissed me quickly before running out the door. Glancing at the clock I grabbed my hat and headed out the door myself. It was time to tell the others what I’d found out about the people trespassing on our land.
“Hey, we’ve got a problem,” I said as I walked into the kitchen of the main house. All eyes turned to me.
“This isn’t about a bra is it?” Kipp asks as he takes a seat at the table, his eyes dancing with laughter that he was smart not to express any further.
“Shut up,” I grumble as I sit next to him. “I finally tracked down who bought the old Hays place.” Nora reached over my shoulder and put a cup of coffee in front of me. “Thank you,” I say as I turn and smile at her. She’s become the sister I never had. Being an only child I welcomed this big, crazy bunch I was lucky enough to call family.
“You going to tell us, or are we supposed to guess?” Nash, asked and I turned to look at him.
“Desmond Tucker.”
“Fuck,” Nash groaned as he slammed his hand on the table. We’d been introduced to Desmond when Nash’s mom showed up on the ranch married to the guy. “You can’t be serious.”
“I wish I wasn’t. Lexie pulled a few land titles and helped me figure it out.” I looked over at Ryder, who glared at me when I mentioned his ex-wife. He might hate her for leaving him but she was still the best lawyer I knew, and when I needed something, she was always willing to help. “Anyway, after a little more digging, it looks like Troy’s family knows Tucker, and that’s how he’s involved. An acquaintance at best, from what I can figure out. I don’t think we need to be worried about Troy, and he’s just the convenient one to run the ranch.” Leaning back in my chair, I hated what this would mean for Elle and Parker. It was likely to lead to trouble, and I didn’t want either one around when that happened.
“What the fuck does this asshole want with us?” Kipp mumbled as he shook his head.
“The land,” Fallon interjected from behind us, Lottie propped on her hip. Nash reached out for his youngest daughter and she went to him willingly, grinning from ear to ear as Fallon got herself a coffee. “That’s the only thing he’s ever after.”
“Well, he’s sure as hell not getting that,” Kipp said angrily as he stood, sending his chair sliding back over the floor. “We’ve all given too much to this place to let some prick try to waltz in and take it, and this won’t end without a fight.”
“Look, he doesn’t have deep enough pockets to get to the Diamond, but he’s got enough to make it hard for others to refuse a sale. Not to mention the lengths he’ll go to make it happen. The Hays brothers were never going to sell to us. They made that clear years ago when Dad tried. And again, when you guys did. What Tucker had to pay them will have taken a toll on his finances.” Fallon sat in an empty chair and folded her hands on the table. Unbeknownst to all of us, she’d been her dad’s right hand before he died. Kipp and Fallon’s dad was the third generation to run this place, and Miller had taught Fallon how to run the business so he could just focus on his animals. As much as we all thought we had the pulse on the ranch, she knew it inside out and backwards.
“Violet isn’t cheap to keep around either. The plastic surgery, designer clothes, she was dripping in diamonds last time I saw her, so there’s that to consider.” Nash cleared his throat, and Fallon looked over at him, arching her brow. “Did I say something that offended you dear? She might be your mother, but she’s the one that brought trouble to our door.”
“Not offended in the slightest.” He smirked at Fallon. Nash wasn’t oblivious to the role his mother played in the situation and there was no love lost there either, but it didn’t make it any easier on him.
“Logic says the gold, but we know better, so it’s the land. What’s the next parcel he’d be looking at that would cut us off?” This Fallon was cunning and sly. She already knew the answer while we stared at one another, letting our eyes drift to the large county map on the wall.
“Let me make this easy for you all. It’s the Watson place, and if he gets it, he’ll cut the water to half the ranch, and all he’ll have to do is wait you out.”
“Maggie and Kane won’t sell, and they know we’ll give them a more than fair offer,” I said, shaking my head. Kane had become one of the few people in the area that I’d come to count on outside our ranch. “But we should keep an eye on things and make sure they know they can call on us for anything.”
“I’m glad she’s not out there alone. Palmer Worthington had been snooping around before Kane arrived. Worthington’s sold last fall. I should look into who bought their place.” I leaned back in my chair and ran my hand through my hair. “We need to keep an eye on this guy.”
“I’ll get on it. Tucker won’t be able to set foot in the state without us knowing.” Ryder said as he crossed his arms over his chest frowning.
“As much as I’d like sitting here talking to all of you, I have animals to check.” Taking the final swallow of my coffee, I stood and took my cup to the sink.
“Hey, would you mind checking the cattle over east? I’d be one less out-of-the-way stop for me today,” Linc said as he followed me out the door.
“Yeah, no problem. I can check where the wild horses are from up on the ridge too.” I didn’t need an excuse to go up and check on my wild babies.
“How are things with Parker?” He asked as we walked off the porch and stopped between our trucks. “We haven’t seen him around a lot lately.”
“He’s been quiet. Being with Elle here has been helping, and Troy moving back town has given him some peace again. But he’s still quiet and it concerns me but the therapist has him seeing her a few times a week for another two weeks and then she’ll reassess things.”
“And how are things with Elle?” I didn’t even try to hide the grin forming across my face. Linc’s smile didn’t reach his eyes and I knew that had to do with Kristin. They’d been on again and off again for years. She was focused on her barrel racing career, and he was ready to settle down and start a family, but he would never try to slow her down. And right now they were off again, only time would tell where those two ended up.
“I’m glad you’ve found one another. She’s good for you, Griff.” He slapped me on the back and climbed into his truck. With a turn of the key, the diesel engine roared to life, and he pulled out of the yard to go do whatever he had planned for the day.
My phone buzzed in my shirt pocket and I pulled it out as I got into my truck.
Elle: Just wanted to say hi.
Me: How’s your first day?
Elle: Great!
Me: I wish I could come in and bring you flowers but I’m riding some fence line today and if I want I get done before dark I need to get at it.
Elle: Seeing you before it gets dark, is good enough for me. Oh and I have Friday off. The office is closed.
Me: Well then, I have plans for you on Friday that doesn’t involve clothes or leaving the bed.
Elle: Oh, do you now?
Me: Yes, ma’am.
Elle: Got to go. People are lining up at the desk.
I didn’t respond. I knew she’d be focused on the next patient, so I tucked my phone back in my pocket and carried on with my day.
The warm wind blew off the flat, but there was a chill behind it. We’d gotten to June with above-average warm days but the wind told me things were about to change. Nudging Tempest’s sides, she bolted and I hung on for dear life.
When I’d found her almost dead from starvation five years ago, she was the first wild horse I rescued from the mountain. She hadn’t been wild her entire life. It was like someone had taken her way back into the mountains and dumped her off. Tell-tale marks from ill-fitting bits; and scars along her flank from spurs were my indication when I got her fed, and I was able to look at her.
The black mustang wasn’t broken, and I suspected her scars were from people trying and failing over her lifetime. She couldn’t be on her own; at one point, she’d been someone’s animal so she wasn’t used to having to fight and scavenge for food.
I sat in the round pen for months, trying to get her to trust me. I had to scrap every bit of training and knowledge I had for this girl. She was angry and took it out on me bucking me off, butting me with her head when I got close, or even kicking me if she decided to. Everyone laughs at how many times I end up with a broken bone or need stitches, but it’s because of this beauty under me.
She came to this ranch, and the moment I started working with her, I saw the violent storm in her eyes. She was mad and hurt that the people who were entrusted to care for her had abandoned her. Storm wasn’t a good enough name for her; she was sleek, elegant, and a tempest.
Not much changed in her eyes from those early days, but the days where she hates me feel like they’re waining all the time. But one wrong move on my part, and there’s fury in her soul again. So when she wants to fly, I don’t control her and pray I don’t get thrown.
Cresting the ridge, she instinctively slowed, and I slid off her back, looking out over the meadow. We wandered through the cattle, and most didn’t even acknowledge we were close. The quiet animals with their thick abdomens growing heavy with claves that would be born in the dead of winter, munched on grass as Tempest and I rode through them.
Turning, I looked up the mountain to see if I could spot the mustang herd. We’ve left a part of the mountain unfenced so the horses have space to roam, and quite honestly, we don’t need the area for the cattle. This was the horses’ home long before it was ours, so they have free range of it.
Something caught my eye a few miles up the mountain. It’s shiny and moving. The light catches it again, and I reach for Tempest’s reins. “Come on, girl.” I turn her, and she lifts her head, and her ears are now pointing straight to the sky. She senses it too. I didn’t even have to nudge her, and she took off like a bolt of lightning. Wind whistled in my ears, and I push day hat down onto my head so it wouldn’t fly off. Ducking I narrowly missed the branch of a tree, and I was sure the beast under me was just making sure I was paying attention.
Effortlessly, she moved around sagebrush and the trees that dotted the landscape. There were very few horses I would trust to navigate this terrain at this speed, but she was steady and never wavered from her chosen path.
Wrenching on the reins, it took nearly all my strength to get her to slow. Tempest came to a screeching halt, as I jumped off her back. Letting the reins drop from my hand, I followed the tire track. Every step I took, Tempest followed. My equine bodyguard, apparently.
Eery silence filled my ears, there wasn’t even a bird chirping, or a cricket making noise. As the hair on the back of my neck stood on end, the charred wood of the fire filled my nose. I looked at the hastily put-out fire, still smoldering and throwing enough heat that my hand warmed as I grabbed the burned log. The wildflowers and grass around my feet were flattened to the left of the fire, and a black spotting scope tossed into the sage brush peaked out from its haphazard resting spot. Standing, I looked around. Whoever it was had to still be somewhere on the mountain. They wouldn’t have been able to get away that quickly.
The hum of an engine caught my attention, and a man on a dirt bike flew by me. Before I could get my bearings, he kicked his leg out against my chest, and I fell to the ground thanks to the uneven surface.
My head bounced off a rock, my vision was almost instantly obscured by blood pouring down my face. “Mother fucker, son of a bitch, asshole.” I groaned, rolling over, a shooting pain forced me to rest my head on the ground again. The noise of the bike was getting further away, but I couldn’t move without the desire to vomit. Getting to my knees, I sat back on my legs and used my shirt sleeve to wipe the blood from my eyes.
Tempest nudged my shoulder and I slowly stood. Reaching for her reins I wandered along the tracks left by the dirt bike. While it wouldn’t have been hard to track a horse, the tire track was infinitely easier.