CHAPTER 10
KENDRICK
I’m frustrated beyond fucking belief right now.
All I wanted to do was spend some more time with my woman, but I couldn’t because I needed to get back to the ranch.
It feels like everything is falling apart around me.
As much as I want to talk to Eliza about coming and staying at the house with me, there is no way I’m going to put her in danger while trying to figure out who is fucking with my family’s ranch.
After checking on Dad in the house, I’m about to pull my boots back on and head out to see how Cliff is doing with checking over the cows. I don’t think I could put into words how pissed off I was when I found the nails scattered through the pasture where we had cows grazing.
I don’t know if I found all of them and knowing there could be more out there just pisses me off even more. What am I supposed to do? Scour every bit of the land with a metal detector? I just don’t think I can do that.
It’s just another way we’re playing defense instead of offense, but it’s as good as it gets at the moment. If I get another chance to take down whoever is fucking with my ranch, I’m going to take it. It’s not like anyone else is going to help me.
Sheriff Gaines wasn’t concerned at all when I stopped by to tell him about finding someone cutting fences on my land. He just asked if I had proof. Fucking proof.
Like he really gave a shit about evidence or procedure or anything else. Investigating would have required him to do something, and the man hasn’t done a damn thing in the last ten years since he was first elected.
He’s lucky crime isn’t normally a problem here or else the man would be royally fucked.
The shrill sound of the phone ringing has me letting out a low groan. Who could be calling me right now? I have shit to do, but I know if I slip out then Dad will insist on getting up to answer the phone.
That thought has me rushing over to the phone and picking it up. A sniffle on the other end has me pausing before I tentatively ask, “Hello?”
“Kendrick,” Eliza’s voice is tear-filled and broken. It has me instantly on edge.
“What’s wrong, Eliza? What’s happened?”
She breaks down into sobs, which she tries to talk through, but can’t. Fuck. I want to rage and start breaking things around me, but it won’t help this situation. The little voice in my head telling me not to leave her only half an hour ago was one I shouldn’t have ignored.
“They wanted me to choose,” she manages to get out clearly enough for me to understand.
“What? Who wanted you to choose? Choose what?”
“Between you and living at home. They said you weren’t the right man for me, but they don’t know you,” her words feel like glass scraping against my skin because of how much pain is in them. “I told them you’re the one I want to be with.”
“Your parents?” I’m still struggling to process what is going on, but it’s the only explanation for who she could be talking about.
The sob she lets out is enough of an answer for me.
I want to go over there and tell her parents exactly where they can shove their judgement and their ultimatums. From what my woman has told me about them, I wouldn’t be surprised to find out they said some fucked up shit about her not going off to college too.
Because why not go for the jugular when you’re already inflicting pain?
My vision goes a little hazy and mists over with red. My body is vibrating as I grit out, “Are you okay?”
“No,” she breathes out before admitting, “I don’t know what to do.”
The raw hurt in her voice fucking kills me. No one should feel what she is feeling right now—abandoned, rejected, alone.
But she’s none of those things. And I’m going to prove it to her.
She takes a shuddering breath. “I’m going to call Arden. I should be able to go to her house.”
“No,” I bark before swallowing hard and softening my voice, “no. I’m jumping in the truck right now and coming to pick you up. You’re coming here. It’s your home and it’s where you belong.”
She snuffles before taking a deep breath and blowing it out slowly. “Isn’t that too much? We haven’t even known each other for two weeks. I can go to Arden’s house,” she tries to insist, but I can hear the uncertainty in her voice.
“Baby,” I coax her by dropping my voice an octave, “let me come and get you. I won’t be able to concentrate while knowing you’re upset. If you’re here, I’ll know you’re safe. Let me come and get you and we can go from there.”
What she doesn’t know is I’ll never let her go once I get her out here at the ranch. No fucking way.
She’s mine.
While I’m not happy about her parents pulling this stunt, I’m not upset about it giving me a reason to move her right on in. This old farmhouse could use the light she brings into every room she enters.
Maybe with Eliza around, my dad won’t keep acting like a bear with a hurt paw.
I didn’t know the man could complain about every fucking little thing until I brought him home from the hospital.
It’s ridiculous. Just yesterday he told me I must have poured the water into his glass wrong because it wasn’t right.
The water in his cup.
All I could do was stare at the man like he was E.T. holding out his finger for me to touch. He might as well have been. The water in his cup? Just, no.
Eliza will be able to work her magic on him, and he’ll calm the fuck down. I just know it.
“Okay,” she whispers, and it feels like I can breathe again for the first time since I heard her crying on the other end of the line.
“Pack some of your stuff,” I tell her. “If we need to go back another day and grab the rest of your things, we can do that, but make sure you have the most important things now. Everything else can be done later. I want to get you back here so you can settle in.”
“Kendrick?” I grunt in response and hear her take another breath. This one is still shaky, but it’s stronger. “Thank you.”
“No, Baby,” I respond, “thank you for not fighting me on this. I’m going to jump in the truck, and I’ll be there soon.”
“Okay,” she whimpers slightly, “I’m already mostly packed up. I’ll be waiting.”
“You wait inside,” my voice hardens slightly. “I’ll carry everything.”
When she giggles, my gut unknots completely. “See you soon, Baby,” I murmur before hanging up.
My chin drops down to my chest, and I take a deep breath to get my shit together before I stomp out of the house and back toward the truck. I don’t bother with tracking down Cliff to let him know what’s going on. He’ll understand when I fill him in after I’m back.
Right now, my only priority is getting to Eliza, making sure she’s safe, and bringing her home.
I race back toward her house and when I pull up this time, I don’t bother with trying to be sneaky by parking a few houses down. The only reason I agreed to do it before was because I didn’t want to be a reason for her parents to give her grief. That’s flown out of the window now.
My tires squeal as I come to a stop and I barely turn the truck off before I swing the door open, hop out, and stalk my way toward the front door of the only home my woman has known. The same home she’s being kicked out of. All because of me.
I should feel bad about it, but I can’t bring myself to see this as anything other than a blessing.
If her parents aren’t willing to get to know me and would rather listen to whatever bullshit people are whispering, it’s on them.
They’ll find out soon enough what kind of man I am because I’ll be the one taking care of their daughter for the rest of her life.
I’m at the front door in a matter of moments and since I see no reason to be polite, considering the circumstances, I bang on the door like I’m thinking about breaking it down.
When it swings open, it reveals a very pissed off Mr. Phelps.
I had him for math back in high school. He was a tight ass then and it’s clear not much has changed.
His expression is pinched and anger simmers in his eyes.
“What are you doing here?” He barks the question at me as if it will be enough to intimidate me. It won’t. “Haven’t you done enough?”
I tilt my head to the side and keep my voice calm, “By dating your daughter? It seems you’re the one who has a problem with it, not me and certainly not her.”
It’s a low blow, but I’m far too pissed to walk it back now. And I find I don’t want to.
When I look over his shoulder, I see Eliza making her way down the stairs with a huge duffle bag and a couple of totes weighing her down. I don’t even think about it when I push past Mr. Phelps and bound straight toward my woman.
She bobbles a little when I grab the bags from her. When she snaps her head up, her cheeks turn a pretty shade of pink at the glare I’m giving her.
“I told you to wait to carry your bags,” even though I don’t like that she didn’t listen to me, I keep my voice soft. I’m sure she’s just as eager to get out of here as I am, even if we have different reasons.
“I’m capable of carrying a few bags down the stairs,” she huffs.
She looks into my eyes, and I want to fall to my knees right on the stairs.
The red rimming her eyes and the fresh tear tracks on her cheeks completely gut me.
She should never look this sad. When I look over my shoulder to find her father standing there with his mouth opening and closing like he’s trying, and failing, to come up with anything to say, I narrow my eyes in warning.
He’s done this. He made her cry.
All because she wasn’t going to let him tell her who she should spend time with. I’m sure it all boils down to the rumors people loved to spread about me years ago. Since I’ve come back to Seneca Falls, I’m sure the busybodies started right back up again where they left off.
They need to worry about their own lives.