Chapter 7
CHAPTER SEVEN
REECE
I t had been a long day and night of watching over the little mare and making sure she had everything she needed.
Booker had told me about re-feeding syndrome, and I hadn’t slept for more than half an hour the entire night from worrying about it.
“We need to give you a name,” I murmured as the little mare nudged at the empty hay net with her nose. “You’re going to have to wait an hour before you get your next net,” I told her, taking down the empty one.
She was so thin that part of me didn’t see how she could survive. I’d never understand how a person could do something like this to an animal.
The vet was due to come tomorrow to do some tests, but Booker had done this enough times that he knew what he was doing by now. His primary concern seemed to be the sores and getting the mare calm enough around us that we could bathe and treat them.
I moved closer to the stable door, and she eyed me warily. “You’ll feel so much better once we get you some medicine,” I told her softly, slowly moving one hand out in front of me. “I’m going to make sure that you get better. We’ve got you now. This is a safe place. Booker looks after us all.”
The mare stretched her neck and sniffed my hand. I felt the gust of her warm breath against my skin and smiled.
She was starting to trust me.
I couldn’t believe I’d told Booker what had happened to me yesterday. Talk about a show of trust. It wasn’t so much that I didn’t trust him with my story. I think it was more that I was ashamed it had happened. That I’d been stupid enough not to see the situation I was getting myself into.
But when I looked at Booker after my confession, he didn’t stare at me like I was the broken, pathetic thing I felt like. There was an anger in his eyes, and I liked it.
I liked that there were still people in the world who cared if I was hurting.
My hand came to my side, and I touched the faded yellow marks. It wouldn’t be long until they were gone now, and something about that made me sad. These were my reminders. The price I’d paid, and a part of me was afraid that once they were gone, I’d forget. I’d whitewash over the pain and walk straight into the same mistake again.
My mind immediately went to Booker. I should have been afraid that the past was repeating itself with him. After all, when I’d first met Camden, there was nothing about him that made me think he was capable of what he’d done. Not at the time, at least. Of course, there were signs. I’d just been too na?ve to notice them.
What if I was making all the same mistakes again? What if Booker wasn’t the person I thought he was?
But then I looked around the barn and at the little mare who cautiously watched me and knew it couldn’t be true. Booker was exactly who he seemed to be. He couldn’t have created all this if he wasn’t.
“It looks like we’re both on difficult roads,” I said to the horse.
“Why are you talking to a horse?” a small voice asked from beside me, and when I looked down in surprise, there was a boy standing there. He had to be around ten, and I had absolutely no idea if he was supposed to be here.
“Erm.” I looked around, but there was no one else about. “I guess because I wanted someone to talk to, and she was here to listen.”
He nodded sagely. “That makes sense.” Then he looked me up and down. “Did she do that to your face? My mom says horses are demons and that no one should ride them because their feet are fitted with murder shoes.”
I snorted with laughter. Someone didn’t like horses.
“No. Someone else did this to me.”
He frowned, and then he reached up and took my hand. “That’s not very nice. But you’re safe here. We’ll look after you.”
“Do you know Booker?”
“Yeah! He’s my uncle. He’s so cool. He rescues horses, and he’s going to teach me how to ride one and buy me one, one day. And he has these amazing quads in the barns that we go out on, but I’m not allowed to ride one of my own yet. It’s still cool, though.”
“It sounds really cool. I’m Reece.”
“I’m—”
“Cade, are you in here?” a male voice called out, and the kid turned and grinned at me.
“We should hide,” he whispered.
“We could,” I whispered back, ducking down to talk to him. “But I’m too pretty to go to prison.”
He nodded again and then turned toward the barn doors, shouting, “I’m in here, Dad.”
Cade’s dad walked down the center of the barn, his face going from puzzled to happy to grinning in glee.
“Hi! I’m Trace.” He held out his hand for me to shake, and I took it. “You’re a girl.”
“You know, I think you’re the first person to ever notice,” I told him as he continued to shake my hand.
“But you’re so pretty!” Cade gasped, clearly not understanding the joke.
Trace laughed and wrapped his arm around his son. “She’s joking, kid.” He ruffled his hair and then turned back to me, nodding toward the barn door, so I followed him. “I can’t believe Uncle Booker has a real-life girl at the ranch.”
“I feel like I’m missing something,” I mumbled as we walked out into the sunlight where a woman was standing by an SUV I hadn’t seen before.
“Delaney!” Trace shouted. “There’s a girl!”
“What?” someone shrieked, and I ducked down next to Cade.
“What’s happening right now?” I whispered dramatically.
Cade rolled his eyes before loudly whispering back to me, “My parents are so cringe.”
“I am not!” Trace gasped. “Take that back!”
“I call cringe when I see cringe,” Cade said back, crossing his arms as he stared his dad down.
I might not have had any idea what was happening, but it didn’t take a genius to figure out that this guy was Booker’s brother. He was obviously younger, and he wasn’t as heavily built as Booker, but apart from that, they looked so similar. It was like getting a glimpse of Booker from ten years ago.
Booker appeared on the porch of the ranch house, and I swore I heard him swear all the way from over by the barn before he stalked his way across the driveway.
“Oh, you’ve done it now. Hi, I’m Delaney!” she said as she stood at my side, and we all watched as Booker stormed closer.
“What is wrong with you two?” Booker snapped.
“Too cringe,” Cade and I said at the same time and then started to giggle.
Delaney looked at me and grinned. “I like you.” She turned to Booker. “I like her, Booker.”
“Someone call the papers,” he snarked. “Now stop traumatizing Reece. You’re supposed to be here for a riding lesson.”
Delaney shuddered, and Cade patted her arm in solidarity. She must be the one that thought horses wore murder shoes. Trace just snickered at her distress, and she threw him a dirty look before an evil grin came across her lips.
“That’s a fantastic idea,” she beamed before she linked her arm through mine. “You guys go and do that, and Reece can keep me company on the porch. You know, for emotional support.”
And then she tugged on my arm as she started walking toward the house.
I glanced back at Booker, who was scowling in our direction. This clearly wasn’t going how he wanted, but his family seemed really nice, and I couldn’t lie. It was kind of funny how much fun they were having messing with him.
“So,” Delaney said, as she led me over to some seats on the porch. “My son is about to get onto a death demon, and I need someone to distract me. Tell me all about you and how you caught the eye of my lovely soon-to-be brother-in-law.”
I laughed, watching as Cade was helped onto a horse that didn’t move even a fraction of an inch as he did. It stood completely still until it lowered its head to sniff Val sitting patiently at its feet.
“See!” Delaney hissed. “I don’t know if I can watch this.”
I turned to laugh at her, but when I saw how gray her face was, I realized she was actually being serious. She was terrified for her kid right now.
“Booker rescued me from the side of the road,” I blurted out, and she looked at me with wide eyes. “My car broke down, and I was freaking out about what to do and kind of didn’t realize that it was on fire. He knocked on my window and hauled me out of there.”
She blinked, her lips parting in surprise. “Wow, that’s…kind of dreamy,” she admitted, and I laughed.
“Yep, my real-life knight in shining armor.”
I looked across at Booker, who was giving Cade instructions on how to hold the reins. He looked different. More relaxed. Happier even.
“He’s a good guy, you know,” Delaney whispered, almost like she thought we’d be overheard. “He’s a grumpy ass sometimes, but it’s only because he’s too used to being alone.”
“Being alone isn’t so bad.”
“Don’t let one person break your view of the world.”
I looked across at Delaney, who was watching the guys. Booker had the horse walking, and Cade was chatting away from the saddle as Trace watched on proudly. He was clearly having the time of his life. She didn’t make any sign that she was talking about anything as serious as we were. I could appreciate that. Having control of my situation and how everyone dealt with it was something I needed, and she seemed to sense that.
“I won’t. I just need to get back to the me I was before all this happened.”
“Hmmm,” she hummed, still not looking at me. “It’s not so bad to be changed by your situation. Something happened to me. Something awful. I…I got pregnant with Cade when I was sixteen. Our parents worked together to separate me and Trace. Trace’s mother even got his brother, Gage, to help her. He never forgave himself and, as soon as he was old enough, he left and never looked back. Trace and Booker lost their brother, and Trace never knew his son existed. They convinced me that he wanted nothing to do with us. I lost ten years with him because of them.”
“That’s awful!” I gasped.
Booker had said something about his parents not being good people, but that was truly evil.
“It is what it is. Sometimes I think it might have even been for the best.” She could see I was about to argue with her, and Delaney patted my arm lightly. “I know missing out on all that time was terrible. And for Trace to have missed out on all of Cade’s life was truly horrific. But we’re different people now. We’re stronger because of the things we’ve been through, and I’m not sure we’d have survived if we hadn’t had that time to grow.”
Delaney had obviously had time to work through this thing that had happened to them, and it was good to see that she was on her way to a good place. She was proof that it was possible.
My situation, compared to hers, didn’t seem so bad. I was one bad dating decision from losing myself, but I pulled myself out when it turned south. I’d escaped where many before me hadn’t been able to.
“What’s it like living in Willowbrook?” I asked, changing the subject.
“It’s strange and unusual and honestly the best.” Delaney laughed. “I was so reluctant to come back here, but it’s the best place on earth. They look after their own around here. We have our problems just like anywhere else, but they won’t abandon you if you need them.”
“That must be nice.”
Delaney hummed in agreement, and we went back to watching the guys. Every time Cade made even a slight movement, Delaney flinched. I ended up reaching out and taking her hand because I couldn’t take the stress of watching her suffer through it.
“How come you don’t like horses?”
She shrugged. “It’s stupid. I went out riding as a kid and got dumped into a patch of stinging nettles. I’ve never been able to look at the damn things ever since.” She turned to look at me with a wince. “I can see them plotting against us every time I meet their gaze.”
I swear I tried not to laugh. My lips pursed together, and she squinted even harder before sighing. “Go ahead. Laugh at my pain.”
And I did.
It burst out of me in joyous peals, and then it just kept on coming. After a minute, Delaney joined in as well, and we laughed until my side ached more than I could ignore.
“Oh my god, I needed that so bad.”
“You’re welcome. Do you want something to drink? We should totally raid Booker’s pantry. He always has the best snacks, and I know all his hiding places.”
I glanced over at the guys and found Booker and Trace watching us intently. I found myself locked in his gaze, unable to look away. There was just something about Booker that drew me to him. He had this intensity that should have scared me, yet it didn’t. If anything, I knew this man would do everything in his power to keep me safe.
I just didn’t know why.
Val yipped and darted out of the training ring Cade was riding in, moving closer to the house with a bark.
Delaney surged out of her seat in panic, but the horse that Cade was riding didn’t even flick an ear at the sound.
“Val!” Booker barked. “Leave it. Doc’s fine, Delaney. He’s used to her yapping.”
Delaney nodded grimly, her eyes not leaving her son. “I knew I shouldn’t have come to watch this, but Cade was so excited. What’s she barking at, anyway?”
“I don’t…” My eyes moved to Booker’s faithful friend, and as they did, they drifted across the driveway leading to the house and the shiny sports car glinting in the sun as it slowly made its way across the gravel. “No,” I whispered in denial.
My body locked up in fear as I took in the black sports car that definitely wasn’t suited to the roads around here. It slowly made its way around the potholes and crept closer to the house. Closer to me.
He’d found me.
I should have run farther. I shouldn’t have stayed. I knew I wasn’t out of his reach, staying so close to the city. Only by putting states between us would I ever be far enough away.
“Val!” Booker barked, sounding closer than he had before. “With me.”
The dog skipped to Booker’s side as he stood strong in front of the house. His shoulders were squared as he stood ready to defend. “Trace, take Cade and the girls inside,” he shouted at his brother, locking eyes with him as he did.
Trace pulled a confused Cade off the back of the horse and jogged toward us, with Cade giggling under his arm.
“Delaney, get inside!” he shouted, putting Cade on his feet at the bottom of the porch and giving him a little push of encouragement. “Protect your mom and Reece for me, kid.”
Cade came charging for us, his eyes glinting with determination. He’d sensed the change in the atmosphere and was ready to do exactly as his father had said.
My little hero.
Delaney was right about the people around here.
But I couldn’t move. My body was frozen in fear, and I hated that this one insignificant man could elicit such a reaction in me.
This wasn’t how it was supposed to be.
I never meant to bring him here after me.