CHAPTER 84
Emma
“What the actual motherfucking fuck?” Summer peers out the windshield and flips on the wipers, as if a smudge on the window is to blame for the circus act we’re watching.
The monster is yelling so loud that I can hear every word from inside the truck.
“You fired me?” he shouts.
“They can’t fire him,” Summer says. “He’s a broker. He doesn’t work for us.” She’s riveted to the scene unfolding in front of us.
I watch in the rearview mirror as Evander gets out of his SUV and marches past us to join the semicircle of MacLaine men facing off with Perkins.
“C’mon. We can’t miss this.” She opens her door. “This is awesome! We hardly ever get crazies on the ranch! Well, you know, not counting the ones who live here.”
I get out of the car, too. I stay close to Summer, and we take a wide berth around Perkins to the MacLaine side of this confrontation. Summer stands between Jamie and Special K, but I remain on the periphery, ten feet behind the MacLaine line.
I wish this weren’t happening. I was praying I’d never have to see the monster from my past again.
In fact, I’d hoped he exited Declan’s plane and was immediately hit by a truck. Or a train. Or best yet, a steamroller that flattened him like a cartoon character. It’s a lot, I know.
He deserves it all.
Whatever is happening right now is because of me.
It’s my fault they have to deal with him.
I really should intervene. I need to stop this, but I can’t move.
I’m rooted to the ground, too heavy to move.
I’m dizzy as I watch the scene play out like a movie with bad sound, like I’m hearing everything from miles away.
It needs to end. I want J.R. Perkins to disappear, to vanish. I want him to never have existed. Why did he ever have to exist?
From deep inside me, that black hole of despair I thought was gone, I hear one word: why?
Why was I allowed to experience bliss only to have it all shot down by my miserable past? Because no matter what Finn has said, I can’t expect him to accept this invasion of his peaceful existence, his happy home.
Where his child lives.
“You bastard, you fired me!” he shouts directly at Finn. “I had that job for twenty-three years!” He waves his arm wildly.
He’s eggplant-purple from his bald head to his shirt collar. I hope he blows a gasket right here so I never have to see him again.
“You must be mistaken,” Evander says in his lawyer voice. “You’re a feed broker, an employee of a supply wholesaler based out of Las Vegas, I believe. Is that correct?”
All the MacLaines nod.
“And we’re just lowly ranchers,” Evander says.
“You called the company.” Perkins points a finger at Finn. “You got me fired, you piece of shit, entitled, trust-fund baby asswipe! You got me fucking fired!”
Finn grins at him. It’s a self-satisfied grin.
It hits me that Perkins is right. Finn got him fired. In fact, that’s not all that’s going on here.
Finn must feel me staring at the back of his head. He glances my way and we lock eyes. I’ve never had a protector before. I’ve certainly never had an avenger.
And he’s doing it for me not because he thinks I’m a pitiful victim, but because he loves me. Because I’m worth the effort.
I feel myself smiling at my hero in his cowboy boots and worn jeans, all that black hair, shaggy and thick and sexy as hell.
He’s clean shaven, a thoughtful gesture so he doesn’t cut up my face when we kiss. His shirtsleeves are rolled to his elbows. His forearms are dusty from working with the horses, and his hands… his big, strong, calloused hands are clenched into tight fists by his sides.
So he’s not as calm and victorious as he’s letting on, I see. He’s still ready for a fight. That means this fight—whatever is going on—isn’t over.
“That’s not all!” Perkins is still shouting, still irate and red in the face. “You bad-mouthed me to every fucking person I know. To the state, for fuck’s sake! I’m ruined. My wife’s lost her job as a foster mother.”
“That’s a damn shame,” Jamie says. “Now get off my property.”
“Get off your property? Where am I going to go? You ruined me! I’m going to sue you for slander! I’m going to sue you for libel! I’m going to ruin you!” He extends his arms and spins around once. “This’ll all be mine! You fuckers and that little bitch messed with the wrong man!”
“Stop!”
All the MacLaines do as I say, and they let me squeeze past them. I feel Finn right behind me. I think I feel flames shooting out of Special K’s chest. But I hold up my hand so that they give me a moment.
I take a breath. I hate conflict. I hate fights.
I’ve been avoiding both of those things my entire life, and with little success.
But it hasn’t stopped me from trying. So standing here, watching J.R.
Perkins melt down and threaten everything I’ve grown to love, I wish I could be anywhere but here.
But if I were, I wouldn’t have heard the one thing I’ve waited so many years to hear.
“What did you just say?” I ask.
“I said I’m going to take you people for every penny you have and every penny you ever hoped to have.”
“No. What did you say before that? About your wife?”
“She was fired! We’re no longer allowed to be a foster home. They’re talking about putting me on some kind of fucking list!”
My hand flies to my chest. A weight rises off me, and for the first moment since this horrible man invaded my room and abused me, I can breathe. All the way. My chest fully expands with each intake of air.
The Perkins family can no longer foster children. The demon from my past is on a list. I feel my mouth turn up in a wide smile, and I glance over my shoulder to Finn.
This is victory. This is freedom.
And when I turn around again, that’s when I notice. The monster is squinting at me, trying to place me. Oh, holy shit.
He doesn’t even know who I am.
“You do remember me, right? You know my name?”
His eyes dart to the men behind me, and he takes a step back. I hear Summer whisper, “Fucking fuckballs—they know each other?”
The monster grunts. “Emily something, not that it matters. You were one of our girls. Half of you were named Emily and you were pretty much all the same. That’s all I can tell you.”
I can’t help it. I laugh out loud. All this time… all these years I’ve tortured myself over that night. What I did to him. The ordeal I went through before they decided not to charge me. And he doesn’t even recognize me or remember my name!
It’s almost too ridiculous to believe.
“My name’s not Emily. I’m Emma Clark.”
He frowns. Then his good eye widens. I feel Finn’s breath on my neck.
“Maybe this will jog your memory.” I make a dramatic diagonal slashing motion down my face, from my forehead to my chin.
He lunges. In a flash, Finn grabs me, pulls me to safety, and extends his right arm. The monster runs directly into Finn’s closed fist and topples backward.
Just then, the blue-and-red flashing lights of two of the sheriff’s department SUVs come racing down the ranch lane, throwing gravel and dust into the air.
Evander peers down at the man in the dirt and pokes him with the shiny tip of his dress shoe.
“Your ride’s here,” he says.