Chapter 6
CHAPTER SIX
BOOKER
B reakfast was strange because I couldn’t stop looking at the empty seat in front of me where Reece sat yesterday. The whole point of taking her to the grocery store was so she could cook for herself, and yet part of me wanted her here.
And I didn’t know why. It’s not like I hadn’t had breakfast alone before.
No. I knew why. I just didn’t know when I’d become such a freak that I was obsessing over a woman who needed my help.
There was no time to sit inside and avoid the woman in question. Hank was on his way with the new horse, and they’d be here any minute. Reece wouldn’t stay inside the cottage when she saw the new horse turn up, given that it would be her job to help with its care.
As if I’d summoned them, I heard the crunch of gravel under tires. Swearing, I abandoned the rest of my coffee and stood with a sigh of resignation. Val’s head popped up at the sound, and she peered at me over the edge of her dog bed. I could have sworn she rolled her eyes at me, but it was probably my subconscious trying to make a point.
“Come on, Val. Time to welcome the newcomer.”
I stood on the porch with Val at my side as Hank pulled the trailer around and then backed up toward the open barn doors. It was easier on the horses to get them into the biggest stable at the end as quickly as possible. They were already pretty stressed out from the journey and everything they’d been through.
“Morning, boss,” Hank called out as he climbed out of the truck. “I don’t think this one will be any bother. She got in the trailer as calm as anything.”
That wasn’t always a good sign. Some horses who’d lost their fight didn’t make it. It was like they’d already given up and were just waiting for the end.
“Let’s get her out and see what we’re working with.”
Hank nodded, ducking down to fuss over Val when she ran to his side and then reached into the truck for his hat. The sun glinting off the metal of the horse trailer could be enough to blind you momentarily on a sunny day, and it was never a good idea to take your eyes off an unpredictable horse. Especially not on arrival day.
Hank and I worked together to get the barn set up and ready. How this stage went very much depended on how much the horse cooperated with us. The hope was to get it into the stable, which already had the door open, and ready to close behind it. Worst-case scenario, though, she’d be in the barn until we could calm her down enough to lead her in.
We’d done this enough times now that we could probably do it in our sleep, so when Hank lowered the horse trailer’s door down, I wasn’t worried.
I peered inside and saw the mare standing calmly at the end, the halter secured loosely enough that she could move a little if she needed to, but not enough to hurt herself in transit. With her head hanging low, I could already see that Hank was right about her. She didn’t even flick an ear as he came in through the side door to get her out.
“She’s been through it, this one,” Hank said softly as he stroked the mare’s nose. “But she’s not given up yet. We’re gonna show you how beautiful life can be, little one.”
Whispering in soft tones, Hank backed the mare down the ramp. I heard a soft gasp behind me I knew had come from Reece. I’d seen enough horses in this state that it didn’t shock me anymore. It still had me gritting my teeth and wishing I could get my hands on the previous owner, though. That never left me.
The mare stumbled, and it was hard not to react. If she went down now, I doubted we’d get her back up again.
The poor thing was so emaciated that she looked like a skeleton covered in skin. Patches of her hair were gone, and angry ulcers glistened with infection in the sun. The smell was something you couldn’t describe. I shook my head as Hank slowly walked the mare to the stable. Her hooves were so overgrown that they’d curled up on themselves, and I knew every step must have been agony.
“Why would someone do this?” Reece whispered as she came to my side.
“Unfortunately, that’s not the worst case I’ve ever seen,” I told her as we followed Hank and the mare at a safe distance.
It was being overly cautious. This poor girl didn’t have the strength to fight anymore.
“What do I do?” Reece asked, her voice sounding stronger with determination.
I stole a glimpse of her out of the side of my eye, and I saw the anger in her eyes. Her hands were balled into fists, and for the first time since I’d caught sight of her, she stood with her back completely straight as if she was prepared to fight the world. I knew she wouldn’t have recovered enough for it not to hurt. She was just angry enough that she didn’t feel it right now.
“There’s nothing to do for now. We’ll give her some food and let her rest for a bit. She’s not showing it now, but she’s stressed, and it will take time for her to know she’s in a safe place.”
Reece nodded, looking around like she was trying to find something. I could sense her need to do something, probably because it burned inside me, too.
“If you want to do something, you could see if you can get her to drink. I’ve prepared some salt water in a bucket in the kitchen.”
“Salt water?”
“She’s severely dehydrated. To get her hydrated as fast as possible, we give her small amounts of diluted salt water every thirty minutes until she’s not thirsty anymore. Then she can have normal drinking water.”
Reece nodded and headed to the back of the barn where I’d shown her the feeds and supplies were kept. The determination in her walk was new. She wasn’t trying to fold in herself. She’d need some boots and a hat. She probably didn’t have suitable work clothes, either. Getting her to accept those wouldn’t be easy, and there was no way I was going shopping for her. Unfortunately for me, that meant I’d have to enlist some help. They’d know by now, anyway. Even if they hadn’t heard it from the town gossip, Blake would have told Delaney all about Reece within seconds of us leaving her yesterday. I was actually surprised they hadn’t turned up already. My brother and his soon-to-be wife would love everything about this.
Reece came back with the water bucket and then walked into the stable without even waiting to see if it was safe. That was a conversation we’d need to have later. Hank had taken the mare’s lead rope off but left her in the halter just in case. It was loose enough not to rub against the sores on her face, but I wanted it off her as soon as possible.
I stepped forward, ready to jump in if Reece needed me. But she calmly approached the little mare, murmuring soft words to her as she held the bucket close enough that she could drink. The mare backed up a step, eyeing Reece cautiously, and I froze, watching for a twitch of a muscle that could mean Reece was in danger. But she stood still, murmuring to the mare and reassuring her she was going to be all right.
Hank came to my side, watching Reece carefully. His hands were shoved in his jeans pockets, but I knew he was ready to move if necessary.
Hank had been with the ranch for nearly ten years now. He was one of the first hires I’d ever made. I only had two ranch hands at the moment. There wasn’t a huge amount of work to be done. We were down to just the horses now, and renovation works were underway for my new project. Hank and Cliff were helping maintain the acreage until the real work started.
“I didn’t know we were ready to take on guests,” he said quietly.
“We’re not,” I admitted. “But she needed help, and I was in a position to give it.”
Hank hummed thoughtfully, then fell silent as we watched the mare stretch out her neck toward Reece to sniff at the bucket.
This was a crucial point when a new horse arrived. If it wouldn’t drink, it would need fluids intravenously, and it usually meant we’d have a hell of a fight on our hands to get it healthy again.
Reece stood completely still, letting the mare make her own decision, and we all released a collective breath when she took a step forward and finally drank.
Reece smiled gently, watching over the mare as she drank the small amount of water I’d prepared. When she’d finished and Reece came out of the stable, I could see the tears in her eyes.
I reached down and grabbed the hay net filled with leafy alfalfa hay and closed the stable door, hanging the net high enough at the side for the mare to reach without having to stress her weak muscles.
“What now?” Reece asked quietly.
“We wait.” I wanted to caution Reece that not every horse made it, but I could already see that wasn’t an option for her. “We get her hydrated and then see if we can get close enough to assess her condition and the sores.”
Hank clapped me softly on the shoulder. “I’m going to take the trailer down the yard and sanitize it. Holler if you need me.”
“Thanks, Hank.”
Reece moved to the other side of the walkway and slid down to sit on the floor, her eyes never once leaving the open half of the stable door. A soft smile came to her lips as the mare moved to the net and pulled some alfalfa free.
There was a lot to do. I needed to update the vet and get confirmation on when they were coming by. I should probably get hold of Cliff too and get him to ride the trails I still hadn’t gotten around to. Instead, I moved to Reece’s side and sat down on the ground, pulling the hat from my head and running the brim through my fingers just for something to do. Val went to her other side, lying down and putting her head on Reece’s lap.
“I inherited this ranch from my grandfather,” I told her. “My parents had high expectations for me when I was a kid. My dad’s in the property development business, and they expected me to work with him. Take over the business one day. Turn their millions into even more millions. But that wasn’t me. This place. This was where I was always supposed to be, and they hated it.”
Reece turned her head to look at me, and I could see the sorrow in her eyes. I didn’t want it, but I knew if she was ever going to trust me with her story, then I needed to give her mine.
“That must have been hard,” she said quietly.
I shrugged. “It is what it is. I love this place. I always have. It’s in my blood in a way that I can’t describe. I spent as much time as I could here to get out of their house. It was always the horses for me. My grandfather used to raise cattle, but we don’t have any on the ranch anymore.”
“How come?”
I hesitated. I’d never actually told anyone about the next part. The plans I had for the ranch or the fact that they were already underway.
“One day, my grandfather brought a plow-horse back to the ranch. It was in a terrible state. Worked until it couldn’t work anymore. I helped him nurse that horse back to health. I used to sneak out of the house at night so I could sit in the stable and watch over it. Then, when it was healthy again, I used to sneak out to sit with him for different reasons. A lot of stuff went on in my parents’ house that…we don’t talk about.”
Reece reached out and took hold of my hand, which I’d balled into a tight fist. She gently opened my fingers and then threaded her fingers between them, holding my hand.
“And now, you want to help as many horses as you can,” she said.
“Yes. But it’s more than that. That old horse saved me. He gave me purpose, a reason to assess the bad stuff in my life and choose whether I was going to let it keep holding me prisoner. I want to help other people find that.”
“Is that why you brought me here?” she asked softly.
“I saw something in you I hadn’t seen since I was a kid. You need this as much as I did.”
She nodded, her eyes going back to the mare, who was slowly eating now. “You know, this is the most you’ve said to me in one go since we met,” she pointed out.
“I’m not the best with people,” I admitted.
“You could have fooled me.” Her head tipped to the side and gently laid on my shoulder, and I fought the urge to move.
Not to escape her, but to slide closer. To wrap my arm around her shoulders and draw her into the side of my body. To give her the shelter I craved.
“It’s such a cliché that I couldn’t believe it was happening to me until I was so deep I didn’t know how I’d got there. He seemed like the perfect guy when I met him. I was fresh out of college and in my first proper job, doing exactly what I wanted to do with my life. I was flattered, you know? He saw me, he wanted me. And it wasn’t bad at first. He took me out for fancy meals, bought me expensive gifts, told me I was the only woman in the world for him. I can’t believe I fell for it.”
She fell so quiet I was sure she could hear the creak of my teeth as I clenched my jaw.
All I needed was a name. The name of the dirtbag who’d taken this beautiful woman and broke her just because he could.
“We moved too fast. I should have known better,” she whispered, laying the blame on herself and not where it belonged. “I was so flattered when he asked me to move in with him. We’d only been seeing each other for a few months, but I was so completely in love with him. Everything changed once he had me in his house. It started with cruel comments at first, then he slowly manipulated me into cutting out my friends. If I loved him, I wouldn’t need them. Why did I want to go out with someone else when I had him at home? Didn’t I love him the same way he loved me? It all came to a head a few weeks ago. He wanted me to leave my job to be at home for him whenever he needed me, and I suddenly looked up and realized what had happened. How alone I was. How my life was slowly slipping off the tracks I’d put it on. And for the first time, I said no to him.”
My hand squeezed hers gently when she hesitated. I wouldn’t push her, not yet. There were so many details she was leaving out, and I needed them all. But she’d never give them to me if I tried to force her now.
“He completely changed in an instant,” she whispered. “It was like his mask fell off, and I saw him for who he truly was. I said no, I didn’t want to lose the independence that my job gave me, and he flew into a rage. I’d never seen him like that before. He punched me, and I fell to the ground. It was so unexpected. He’d never done anything like that before. But then it was like he snapped. He was screaming at me that I was his, kicking me. I tried to stop him. I begged him to stop, and then…at a certain point…I gave up. I thought he was going to kill me. But then he stopped. He stared down at me on the ground, and there was nothing on his face, no emotion, nothing. He told me to clean myself up, and then he left. I knew if I didn’t leave then, I would never get away. So I made a plan. It took me a couple of weeks, but I slowly packed all my old things and moved them into my car without him noticing. I didn’t need anything he’d given me. I didn’t want it. Then, at the first opportunity I had, I drove away. I guess you know the rest.”
Reece shrugged then, like it was no big deal.
“I’m sorry that happened to you,” I finally said when I couldn’t take the silence anymore.
It wasn’t enough. I wanted to swear to her that I’d hunt him down and tear him limb from limb, but violence wasn’t what Reece needed right now.
It was what I needed.
“Will you show me how to make the salt water she needs?” she asked instead.
“Sure.”
We both got up and headed to the back of the barn, and Reece listened intently while I took her through the water and feeding routine for the mare. She didn’t say another word about what had happened to her, and I didn’t ask her any questions. It was harder to resist pulling her into my arms and promising that I was going to make it all better.
She didn’t need that.
She didn’t need me .
Reece needed compassion and a safe place where she could heal, and I wouldn’t be the creep who took that away from her.