CHAPTER 13
Victor didn’t tell Johnny about why he needed to turn around and drive back to the barn, but he made it clear it was serious. Johnny didn’t argue with him, and within twenty minutes he had returned. Victor pulled him into his office and closed the door.
“You’re scarin’ me, actin’ like this. Is Taylor okay?” Johnny asked.
“She’s working with Midnight in the round pen. She was supposed to have a riding lesson today, but…” Victor trailed off and sighed. “Did she tell you she couldn’t ride today?”
“What? No. Why can’t she ride?”
“Was she acting different in the car on the ride over?”
Johnny gave it a moment’s thought. “I don’t think so. She seemed quieter, I guess, but I thought she might just be tired. What’s wrong?”
“She told me she can’t ride because your sister’s boyfriend spanked her so hard she can barely sit down.”
Johnny stared at him for a second, first disbelieving then with increasing displeasure. “She told you this?”
“Yes. She said he did it with a belt.” Victor paused before continuing. “I don’t exactly know what the damage is, but if it’s bad enough she can’t sit on a horse, I imagine there’s bruising.”
“God fuckin’ damnit,” Johnny snapped, scowling. “I’m gonna fuckin’ kill him.”
“I was going to suggest getting the authorities involved.”
At this, Johnny’s reaction was immediate. “Hell no.”
“Johnny, this qualifies as child abuse. It has to be reported.”
“Mike’s brother is a fucking cop on the local force. Half of his family is. They won’t give a single damn, and you have my word on that. All it’s gonna do is make shit worse. And even if they don’t care, what are they gonna do? Take Taylor away from my sister? That ain’t good for her either.”
“If she’s being abused—”
“We’re gonna settle this the old fashioned way. I’m gonna call Mike.”
Christ. Victor hated that he had to be involved in this clusterfuck, because he knew it was going to blow up in his face. “And do what? Make him promise to stop?”
“Put the fear of God in him, that’s what I’m gonna do.”
“We need to put Taylor first.”
“I’m puttin’ Taylor first by killin’ Mike.”
“Johnny, don’t you fucking joke about that shit,” Victor replied, terrified that Johnny was being serious.
He had the posture and expression of a man on a mission.
“Listen to me. It sounds like your sister knows Mike did this. I don’t know the situation, and I’m not sure if your sister is implicated.
She might be afraid of him, I don’t know.
But you need to get this figured out before I let Taylor go back home.
She begged that I not tell you. If this blows up, Taylor could be caught in the crossfire. ”
“Oh, Taylor ain’t goin’ anywhere right now, I promise you that.” Johnny pursed his lips, face drawn. “Go get Taylor. I’m gonna take a look at the damage and then give my sister a call.”
“She made me promise not to tell you because she was afraid of your reaction. So keep a hold of yourself.”
Johnny offered a minute nod, jaw locked.
With a sigh, Victor went to the outdoor round pen, where he found Taylor swinging a rope over Midnight’s rump and up between her legs to gauge her reactivity.
Midnight stood quietly, ignoring all of it.
That had not been her initial reaction to a lasso hitting her rump, and it had taken several sessions to get her to this point.
“Taylor,” Victor said upon his approach. Taylor jumped in surprise, then went to the gate and opened it, Midnight following behind on a loose lead. “Hey, kid. Lemme take Midnight. I need you to go to the office and talk to your uncle.”
Her face fell, eyes wide with fear. “I didn’t want you to tell Uncle Johnny anything!”
“I’m sorry, Taylor. I had to. I can’t let people hurt you. As an adult, it’s my job to make sure you’re protected.”
“He’s gonna be so mad,” Taylor whimpered.
“He should be. I’m mad, too. What Mike did to you is wrong.”
“He’ll tell Mama, and then she’ll be angry at me. They all will.” Tears started welling up in her eyes. “I don’t want anyone to be mad at me.”
Victor drew Taylor into a firm hug, letting her cry against his shirt. Midnight nuzzled her shoulder from behind, sensing her distress. Taylor turned away from Victor and grabbed Midnight around the neck, burying her face in her fur.
Victor gently placed a hand on Taylor’s shoulder. “Hey. Look at me. Taylor.”
Taylor twisted just enough to look at him with one eye.
“I promise you that no one will hurt you, okay? I’m glad you told me the truth, and I’m not taking it lightly.
I’m going to do all I can to make sure you’re safe and protected.
But you have to talk to your uncle and show him what Mike did.
What he did was wrong, and he needs to be held accountable. ”
“I was running my mouth,” Taylor whimpered, voice muffled by Midnight’s neck.
“If an adult man can’t handle a nine-year-old running her mouth, then I hesitate to call him a man at all. He shouldn’t have hit you. I don’t care what you said to him.”
Taylor nodded tearfully before withdrawing from Midnight and holding up the end of her lead rope. “Can… can you work with her a little bit? I don’t want her to think anything’s wrong.”
Victor patted her on the top of the head. “Sure thing. Tell Johnny to come get me when you’re done.”
Taylor hung her head and shuffled up the path toward the barn.
Victor pulled Midnight back into the round pen and worked a bit on disengaging her forequarters and teaching her to give to pressure on her poll.
He was just considering finishing up when he saw Johnny strolling his way.
Victor tied Midnight and went to the gate to speak to him.
“Well?”
“Taylor’s crying and a mess, so I left her in the office to calm down,” Johnny said, voice low and strained. “I looked at the damage but there wasn’t much to see. A bit of red, a hint of a bruise, but that’s it. Ain’t nothin’ no cop or social worker is gonna care about.”
“You don’t know that.”
“My daddy did way worse to me and nobody gave two shits about it.”
Victor wasn’t sure what to do with that information but thought it warranted some kind of response. “Things have probably changed since then.”
“In rural Oklahoma? Boy, what you on? Ain’t nobody gonna care about a few little welts on the back end of a smart ass nine-year-old.”
“So what, we just let her go back home and nothing changes?”
“Did I say that? I’m just sayin’ the cops ain’t gonna care.
I’m gonna have to have a long talk with my sister.
Taylor says she didn’t see it but that she knows it happened, which means part of this whole thing is her fault.
She let that man into her house around her children.
She even let him make one of his own. Mike was supposed to come by and pick her up but I left a message on her phone tellin’ her she’s gotta come by and pick her up herself, and not without havin’ a long chat with me about it. ”
“Can’t Taylor just go home with you?”
For the first time, there was a blip in Johnny’s stern expression, like a hint of uncertainty. He looked away, then back again. “I ain’t really set up to take on a nine-year-old right now.”
“What’s that mean? You got a meth lab at your house?” Victor joked.
“I just think she’s better here. The horses’ll help keep her occupied.”
“You know I’m happy to have her, but I’m trying to stay out of this as much as I can.”
“My sister ain’t gonna be mad at you. I’ll duke it out with her, so if she gets pissy, she’ll take it out on me. I’m gonna do what I can to salvage this fuckin’ mess.”
Victor watched Johnny walk off, then turned to Midnight and decided to take her back to the barn.
Taylor was there waiting for her when Victor showed up, and she took the lead from him without a word.
Victor told her to hose Midnight down and then put her back in her paddock.
As she was doing that, Victor heard his dogs barking at someone pulling up the driveway.
When he went to look, the SUV seemed familiar.
But he wasn’t sure how much until it pulled to a stop and the door swung open.
Out stepped a heavier set man with a goatee in a baseball cap, a camo T-shirt, and dirty jeans.
He looked like your bog standard Oklahoma redneck, at least until Victor realized why the SUV was familiar.
It was often the car Kayla dropped Taylor off in.
So was this Mike? What was he doing here?
Victor had thought Johnny called him and told him not to come, or that he’d at least asked his sister to.
Victor figured he had about ten seconds to order Mike off his property before Johnny saw him and started something.
“Taylor here?” Mike asked around a cheek full of chew.
“Did you get a call from Johnny?” Victor asked.
“What about ‘im?” Mike turned and spotted Johnny’s truck further up the driveway. “Ain’t he at work? What’s he doin’ here?”
“What are you doin’ here, you fat son of a bitch?
” came Johnny’s growl from behind Victor.
Victor started to face him, but he was shoved out of the way by Johnny so roughly that Victor staggered and nearly fell.
When he gathered his bearings, he turned toward Johnny and shouted in surprise.
Johnny was pointing a fucking shotgun right at Mike.
Mike looked just as shocked as Victor, his mouth falling open as he lifted his hands skyward.
“What the fuck are you doin’?” Mike asked.
“You put your hands on my niece one more goddamn time and they’ll be finding fragments of your skull the next county over,” Johnny growled.
“Don’t you point that thing at me! I’ll call the cops on your ass.”
“Johnny, Jesus Christ,” Victor said, stepping close but afraid of reaching out to touch Johnny in case it made him react impulsively. “Put down the gun!”
Johnny lowered the gun, but not low enough to make it less dangerous. “You wanna beat somebody, you beat somebody who can put your ass in the dirt.”