“What’s on your mind?” she asked, feeling antsy under his penetrating gaze.
“I’m just thinkin’ about a conversation I had with your father this mornin’.”
Grace stumbled, but Grant caught her, never breaking his stride as they continued their path around the floor.
“You talked to my dad?”
“Yeah. He mentioned that some little sassy cowgirl came to him to let him know she was in love with two cowboys.”
“Oh, crap.”
“No, darlin’,” Grant whispered. “It was a good chat. He made me realize a few things.”
“Like?”
“Like how much I’ve screwed up lately.”
“You haven’t screwed up,” she said resolutely. “Things’ve been crazy. I’m just glad your mom’s all right.”
“Yeah, me, too. I talked to her earlier. She said she’s not comin’ back till my dad gets some help. Apparently, his gamblin’ has finally gotten to her. That and the physical abuse started up again.”
Grace’s eyes went wide as she stared up at Grant. “He hit her?”
“It seems so. She didn’t want him to pawn the TVs, but he insisted. They got into a fight. My dad hit her, and for the first time, she didn’t hit him back.”
“I’m so sorry, Grant.”
“Don’t be,” he replied easily, pulling her closer. “They’ve got to figure this out on their own. But that’s not my problem tonight.”
The smile he sent her way was filled with so much promise.
“Tonight I just wanna spend some time with my two favorite people,” Grant added. “Speakin’ of…” Grant glanced around the arena. “Have you seen Lane?”
“Not since I left the dinin’ hall,” she said easily, sliding her hand up and down his back gently. “I’m sure he’s around here somewhere.”
Grant’s gaze returned to hers, a smile on his lips. She couldn’t help but remember how he’d told her that he loved her last night.
“You look so pretty tonight,” he added. “If there weren’t a hundred pairs of eyes on us right now, I’d kiss you.”
Grace wouldn’t mind in the least. “One of these days, you won’t care who’s watchin’,” she told him.
“You’re right, I won’t.” Grant’s hand tightened on her waist, pulling her closer, their feet shuffling slowly across the sawdust on the floor.
“What do you say, when this thing’s over, we—”
A commotion started, and Grant stopped midsentence, as they both turned to look toward the ruckus.
“Sonuvabitch,” Grant growled, suddenly releasing Grace and heading to the other side of the arena where she could see…
Oh, shit. That was Lane and Cody and…
“Oh, my God,” Grace said softly, unable to move from where Grant had left her.
“Who is that?” Faith asked, out of breath because she had run over from the opposite corner. Not far behind her were Hope, Trinity, and Mercy.
“What the fuck is he doin’ here?” Mercy exclaimed as she started walking away.
Grace managed to grab Mercy’s arm in time to pull her back, which earned her a tongue-lashing from Mercy, most of which Grace ignored.
“That’s Grant’s father,” Grace said, watching in complete shock as Cody had to hold the man back, while three wranglers attempted to keep Lane at bay. “We have to stop them.”
“We? I was tryin’ to go over there and you stopped me, remember?” Mercy grumbled.
Grace knew she needed to try to calm everyone down, but she couldn’t get her legs to move. What happened when Darrell Kingsley announced to everyone just what he’d walked in on last night?
Oh, crap.
She didn’t want to think about the horror she’d see on people’s faces when they heard it coming from Darrell.
Even with her fear, for the life of her, Grace didn’t know any way to stop it.
■□■□■□■□
It wasn’t easy controlling the urge to go get up in that man’s face and give him a piece of her mind, but Mercy managed to stay with Grace. Why, she didn’t know. Maybe because she figured her sister needed her support more than the wranglers needed her getting in the middle of the … whatever the hell was going on over there.
From where she stood, it looked like they were trying to keep Lane from killing the man. They should just let him go, teach the old bastard a lesson.
Tearing her eyes from the craziness, Mercy searched the room, trying to find her father. There were probably close to a hundred and fifty people in attendance tonight, so it took her a minute, but then she located him. He was talking to a pretty blond woman, dividing his attention between her and keeping an eye on Lane. When the shouting rose to a dull roar, he backed away from the woman but not before…
Oh, God.
Her father just kissed that woman.
It hadn’t been a long kiss, or even that intimate, but it had been a kiss nonetheless.
On the mouth.
Was that her dad’s girlfriend? Why was she there?
Mercy’s stomach churned, and for a brief second, she thought she was going to be sick. How could he bring her there without telling them? Didn’t he think that it was important for them to know? Not to be blindsided when they saw him kissing a freaking woman!
Tracking her father across the room, Mercy refused to look back at the stranger who had been kissing her father. She didn’t want to know who she was. If she pretended it had never happened, then maybe the woman would just go away.
Her attention was pulled to the brawl that was taking place on the other side of the arena. She turned just in time to see Grant’s dad pull out of Cody’s grip and storm toward Lane. The wranglers were still holding Lane back — the dumb shits — but then it happened…
Cody went after Grant’s father, grabbing the man and spinning him around in an attempt to keep him away from Lane. But in the commotion, Jerry and Grant stepped in, but not in time to keep Darrell from punching Cody…
Oh, shit.
… right in the face.
Mercy watched as Cody hit the ground, his body lax.
“Oh, my God!” she screamed as she took off at a dead run, racing to get to Cody.
When she reached the group, two of the wranglers tried to keep her back, but she punched and kicked until they backed off. Shoving everyone out of the way, Mercy dropped to her knees beside Cody, leaning over him and chanting his name.
“Zach! Someone find Zach!” someone yelled from behind her, but Mercy didn’t turn around to see who it was.
“Open your eyes, cowboy,” Mercy whispered frantically. “You hear me, Cody Mercer? Open your damn eyes.”
Just then, Cody’s eyes fluttered open, and he reached up to grab his jaw. When he realized she was practically lying on top of him, he smiled, and Mercy was tempted to sock him again just because.
“Hey,” he said, his voice rough. “Shit, that hurts.” He was still holding his jaw. “What the hell happened?”
“The asshole sucker-punched you,” Zach said as he joined Mercy at Cody’s side. “You should learn to duck.”
“I’ll go get some ice,” Jenn offered, placing her hand on Zach’s shoulder. “I’ll be right back. Keep an eye on Joey, will you?”
Zach nodded, turning to look up at Jenn briefly before once again looking at Cody.
“Shit, man. That’s gotta hurt.”
“Thanks, Captain Obvious,” Cody griped.
Cody glared at Zach while Mercy got to her feet. She couldn’t tear her eyes off him, but she backed away at the same time. What had she done?
Turning to see if anyone was paying attention to her, she realized everyone was working to get the crazy guy calmed down.
The crazy guy who was … crying?
Chapter Thirty
Lane was tempted to commit murder. In all of his life, he’d never been as pissed as he was right then.
From the instant Darrell had approached him, referring to him as “Grant’s bitch,” La
ne’s vision had clouded with that damn red haze. Originally, he’d tried to ignore him, wanting to be the bigger man. That had only spurred Grant’s father on.
The audacity of the bastard to show up there and run his mouth like that. It had come as a complete surprise while Lane had been talking to one of the guests, of all people. And now, with three people holding him back, he was so furious it took everything in him to keep himself back. Because God knew that these men weren’t doing a damn good job.
But this was Grant’s father. And the guy was pure fucking crazy to boot.
“Get him outta here!” Grant yelled, and Lane felt himself being pulled back.
“Mr. Kingsley,” Jerry stated insistently as he approached, “we need to have a little chat. So, you’ve got two choices. Come with me to my office, or we’ll talk when the police arrive.”
Lane watched as Jerry spoke in that authoritative tone that people’s ears perked up for. Lane stopped struggling, wanting to hear what was being said.
“I’ve got some things to say,” Darrell announced.
“Not here, you don’t,” Jerry growled. “You say one word about what you saw last night and I’ll rip your voice box right out of your throat. Got me?”
Holy shit.
Darrell’s eyes grew to be the size of saucers. Lane was pretty sure he looked just as dumbfounded.
Lane had heard Jerry make threats before, but never had he heard the man speak like that. Not in all the time he’d been at the ranch. And sure enough, the ranch owner had snagged the attention of every single person standing around, especially Darrell Kingsley.
“Now come on,” Jerry stated, nodding his head toward the main house. “You, too.”
Lane realized Jerry was talking to him and Grant. Confused, Lane shot Grant a look, hoping like hell Grant knew what was going on. The lack of response told him that, no, Grant was just as surprised as he was.
“Where’s Gracie?” Lane whispered to Grant as they walked a few yards behind Jerry and Darrell.
“With her sisters,” Grant stated, his tone rough.
Yeah, it was safe to say that Grant was pissed. Lane understood perfectly because his father had come blustering up to Lane…
“Why the fuck would you get in his face?” Grant growled low, his words stopping Lane in his tracks.
“What?”
“What the fuck were you thinkin’?”
Lane was stunned, unable to come up with a response because he was taken aback by the accusation in Grant’s tone.
“You don’t know how to leave well enough alone, do you? This is my problem. Not yours,” Grant said, putting his finger into Lane’s chest. “I can’t fuckin’ believe you. This is my job. Do you not get that?”
Lane swallowed hard, doing his best to keep his temper in check. He was actually a little dizzy, trying to keep up with all of the reprimands coming from the man who was supposedly his lover.
Thanks to whatever higher power, Lane found his voice, and when he spoke, the sound was rough, laced with emotion that he couldn’t contain. “I’m sorry,” he said sarcastically. “Next time someone refers to me as ‘Grant’s bitch,’ I’ll just smile and nod. Is that the response you’d like from me?”
And with that, Lane turned and stomped off.
Fuck this shit. He did not need to be put in his place for standing up for himself and the two people that he loved. Yeah, little did Grant know, but that asshole he called a father had had a few choice words to say about Gracie, too. Things Lane wasn’t willing to repeat. And as much as he despised being referred to as anyone’s bitch, Lane had managed to keep his cool. But when Darrell had brought Gracie into it, the gloves had come off.
And that Lane would never apologize for. Because as far as he was concerned, no one would talk about the woman he loved like that.
No one.
■□■□■□■□
“Sit down and shut the fuck up,” Jerry shouted at Darrell when they made their way into his office. “Close the damn door,” he instructed Grant.
Jerry glared at Grant when Grant slammed the door behind them, but he held his tongue.
“Why the hell are you cryin’? More important, why the fuck are you here?” Jerry asked Darrell.
Okay. Well.
Jerry could tell that Grant was a little surprised by Jerry’s tone, not to mention his choice of words, but he could hardly see past the fury raging through him.
They hadn’t even made it out of the arena before Darrell was sobbing like a big fucking baby, and as much as Jerry wanted to feel sorry for him, he couldn’t.
Jerry had been aware of Grant’s father’s arrival long before anything had started. With Jan there, he had opted to try to keep things civil, hoping Grant would take care of the matter on his own. It hadn’t been long before Darrell had found Lane, and Jerry knew that’s when the shit had hit the fan. And tonight of all nights, Jerry did not want to have to be acting as a mediator for a bunch of grown fucking men acting like children.
Jan was there, out in the arena waiting for him to come back, and, by God, he was not going to be away from her for long.
“Why’re you here?” Grant asked Darrell, his face red with his anger.
“I need money,” Darrell blubbered.
“You don’t need money. You need to go to rehab.”
Darrell looked up at Grant, his eyes bloodshot, his face ruddy. He looked like he hadn’t slept in a week or more. His jaw was furry from at least a week’s worth of beard, and his hair was so greasy Jerry was inclined to believe the man hadn’t showered in at least that long.
Jerry was pretty sure Darrell had hit rock bottom.
“Rehab costs money!” Darrell spat.
Grant looked as though his father had slapped him across the face.
“Are you sayin’…?”
“Yes, dammit. That’s what I’m sayin’,” Darrell sobbed. “She left me, Grant.”
Jerry met Grant’s gaze across the room. The question of where Grant’s mother was had obviously been solved.
“She left and she said she’s never coming back.”
“You don’t deserve her,” Grant retorted. “Not until you get your shit together.”
“I know.”
Jerry wasn’t sure whether Darrell was telling the truth or if he was just spouting whatever was necessary to get himself out of the hot seat. Jerry just didn’t know him well enough to tell.
“Can the two of you work this out?” Jerry asked when it appeared that Darrell needed a few minutes.
Grant nodded his head curtly.
“If you need anything, just holler.” With that, Jerry exited the office. He needed to get back to Jan. They had just been getting ready to walk over to his girls so he could introduce her appropriately when all this had happened. He hated to leave her alone, but it was either that or he’d probably have to deal with the cops for an hour or so if he hadn’t intervened.
By the time Jerry made it back to the arena, Hope had managed to get everything under control.
Sort of.
“Where’s Mercy?” Jerry asked his oldest daughter.
“No idea.”
“Where’s Gracie?” he asked, realizing that she wasn’t there, either.
“Not her keeper,” Hope muttered softly.
Well, hell. This was not how he wanted the introductions to take place. He would’ve preferred to introduce them all at the same time. And more important, Jerry wanted them to meet Jan before she showed up for dinner tomorrow night.
“Get your sisters, would ya?” he asked Hope.
When she merely huffed and walked off, Jerry scanned the room in search of Jan. He found her sitting on a bench next to Jenn and Zach. Zach was in the process of checking a very irate Cody over.
“Everything okay?” Jerry asked, leaning in to get a closer look at the bruise that had formed on Cody’s jaw from the lucky punch Darrell had gotten in.
“Yep. He’s gonna live,” Zach replied. “He’s lucky. It’s not b
roken.”
“Doesn’t feel like it ain’t broken,” Cody rumbled, putting the ice pack back on his face.
“If you think he needs to go to the hospital, can you get him there?” Jerry asked Zach.
And just as he’d suspected, Cody jumped to his feet. “I don’t need to go to the hospital.”
Yep, the young man was going to be just fine.
Reaching for Jan’s hand, Jerry helped her to her feet and then led her back down to the floor. “Sorry about that.”
“Does that happen often?” Jan asked, a gleam in her pretty brown eyes.
“All the time,” he said facetiously. “That’s what happens when the cowboys don’t get out much.” Jerry looked up to see Hope, Trinity, and Faith coming toward him. Mercy and Gracie were still missing, damn it.
When his daughters got closer, Jerry placed his hand at the small of Jan’s back and urged her to stand just in front of him. “Girls, I’d like you to meet someone. This is Jan. Jan, these are three of my daughters, Hope, Trinity, and Faith.”
“It’s very nice to see you all. Again,” Jan said, her voice confident.
He wished he could say the same for his daughters. He obviously did not need to explain just who Jan was. Jerry had never introduced them to a woman. Not unless he was referring to them as guests, and in this case, Jan certainly wasn’t a guest.
“Nice to see you again, Ms. Haile,” Hope said, holding out her hand. She obviously remembered Jan from her recent stay at the ranch. Recent as in nine months ago.
“Very nice to see you, Hope.”
Trinity and Faith were darting glances back and forth between them, both of their mouths hanging slightly open. “Girls, you’re gonna be seein’ more of Jan in the future. She’s … uh … she’s my girlfriend.”
Wow, and the word sounded strange to him. He was fifty-four years old, and he had a girlfriend.
Oddly, the thought made him feel thirty years younger.
Faith’s eyes widened as his statement sank in. And Jerry knew right then that Jan had been right in wanting to hold off. Based on the disbelief he saw on his daughters’ faces, he was suddenly wishing he’d held off a little longer, too.
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