by CJ Laurence
I snapped out of my wallowing self-pity, looking at my brother with renewed inspiration. I wrenched his grip from my arm. “Burn everything else.”
The curtains throughout the house were next. I was upstairs attempting to rip up my carpets when I heard a stomping up the stairs.
“Leave me alone, Ash. I know what I’m doing. If you’re not going to support me, then just leave. I didn’t ask you to stay.”
“Get your shoes on.”
That wasn’t Ash. It was Paul.
I whirled round, feeling like a rabbit in headlights as I looked up at him.
“What are you doing here?”
“Get your shoes on.”
Seeing him dressed in his black trousers and baby blue shirt made my heart race. I graced myself a few seconds to drink in his delicious body. I loved that look on him.
“Why?”
He said nothing. He strode towards me, picked me up, and carried me downstairs. He set me down after I hit his chest for the twentieth time.
“Shoes,” he said, pointing to my low-heeled boots.
“Fine.”
I stalked outside to see Ash smirking. Paul placed his hands on my shoulders. “Car.”
“Where are we going?”
“Get in the car, Kyra.”
“When you tell me where we are going.”
He said nothing, merely wrapping his arms around my waist and carrying me to the car. Opening the door, he stuffed me in the passenger seat despite my protests.
“Paul, stop it. Where are we going?”
He ignored me, settling himself in the driver’s seat, still silent.
I continued to demand to know where we were going but he remained wordless, his features dark and brooding. He drove us deep into the countryside, and I stared out the window, sulking like a petulant child. Watching the green fields roll by did little to calm the jumble of emotions furling around my body.
The car crunched along a gravel roadway, switching my attention forwards. Apprehension rose within me when I realised we were heading towards a magnificent stable yard. Post and rail fencing edged acres as far as the eye could see, dozens of horses grazing their way through the lush grass. Cross-country fences spanned over all the fields, which surrounded the fabulous yard itself.
The long driveway led us closer, my heart pounding as I watched a couple of riders in one of the several arenas I’d managed to count. What a place. If Scotch was still here, this would have been paradise to me.
He parked the car, fear rising up my throat with a taste of bile. “What are we doing here?”
He exited the car, making his way round to open my door. “Come with me.”
“Paul, I’m not messing about now. What the hell are we doing here?”
Settling his brilliant blue eyes on mine, nothing but a serious tone of determination showed. “I’m not messing about either. Now get out of the car.”
Taking a couple of seconds to debate his mood, I thought better of arguing. My tongue licked at my dry lips when he took my hand and led me through the fantastically, spotless yard. It was like something from a magazine.
He took me through a small alleyway between two stables, my eyes on stalks when I noticed yet another arena out here, all soft, expensive rubber in its Olympic sizing. A young blonde girl stood in the middle, holding a huge dapple grey warmblood mare. The horse had a hell of a pedigree. The way she stood, holding her head with a majestic yet arrogant undertone told me she was no common cob.
“If you’re suggesting what I think you are…”
He glared at me, shoving me through the wooden gate before dragging me over to the young girl.
“This is my sister, Rebecca.”
My jaw dropped open as I stared at him. “You never told me you had a sister.”
“I believe I just did.”
Rebecca giggled and held out her small hand to me. “Hi.”
I smiled, noting how her facial features were so similar to Paul’s. Her green eyes danced with glee as her pretty face creased into a broad smile. We swapped pleasantries before she turned her attention to the horse.
“This is Eloise.”
I cast my eyes over the mare once more, my eyebrows raising at her expensive Stubben tack and pure wool lined boots. “She’s lovely.”
I held a hand out to her, offering for her to sniff me. She cocked an ear in my direction but other than that, didn’t acknowledge me at all.
Rebecca smiled. “Don’t take it personally. She thinks she’s too good for people.”
I pursed my lips. “Ah.” I pointed to the hat in her hands. “And I’m guessing I’m supposed to ride her?”
Her eyes flitted over to Paul before she nodded.
“I haven’t ridden for five years. I actually had no plans to ride again either.” I settled a hardened stare on Paul.
His face expressionless, he turned to me. “Get on the horse.”
“No.”
“Get on the horse, Kyra.”
“No. You’ve been a complete ass to me since you barged your way into my house twenty minutes ago and practically kidnapped me. Stop ordering me around like a damn army sergeant.”
Rebecca spluttered with laughter. Paul’s face darkened. “Get on the damn horse or so help me god I’ll put you up there myself.”
“No.”
“Last chance, Kyra. Get on the horse yourself and keep your dignity or I’ll put you up there. Either way, you are getting on that horse and you are getting on it now.”
I scowled and threw him a swear word or two, making my feelings rather clear. He held the same look until I caved in a couple of minutes later.
I sighed. “Fine.”
Ignoring the fluttering in my stomach and my trembling hands, I put the hat on. As Rebecca sorted the stirrups and girth, I wiped my sweaty palms on my jeans, silently cursing Paul. He carried over a wooden mounting block, my knees not far off knocking together when I climbed it, and stood at the side of the big mare. I took a deep breath before sitting myself on top of my first horse in over five years.
Having already noticed her special bit and noseband, I looked down at Rebecca, more than apprehensive.
“Anything I should know?”
“You don’t scare easily, do you?”
I shook my head. “I used to event.”
“You should be okay, then.”
Should be okay? What the hell did that mean?
Throwing one last dirty look at Paul, I pushed the mare forwards into a walk. She eased forwards with her ears pricked. We made our way around the outside of the arena and I began to relax. Memories of Scotch began to replay, ushering me back into my quiet confidence, and even pushing a smile from me.
Asking Eloise forwards into a trot, I began finding my old rhythm, my body going into autopilot. Just as my nerves finally eased, I suddenly found myself hurtling at an insane speed towards the gate. Before I could do anything, a massive buck threw me through the air, splattering me on the ground at Paul’s feet.
Chapter Thirty-Six
Paul helped me up, asking if I was okay.
“Okay? I just got thrown from an apparent Lilith of horses, and you’re asking if I’m okay?” I brushed the dirt from my jeans, trying to ignore the throbbing throughout my body. “I actually hurt all over if you must know.”
His lips tweaked up into a victorious smirk. “So what are you going to do?”
The penny dropped and I realised what the whole point of this was. A mixture of anger and irritation began bubbling as I stared at the handsome, intelligent man before me.
“I’m sure you could have taught me this lesson in a much nicer way.”
“But this was more literal. And from where I’m standing, more entertaining.”
I narrowed my eyes at him as Rebecca offered me a short whip. “I don’t like using them.”
She pushed it into my hand. “You will need it. Don’t be afraid to use it.”
I chewed my lip and remounted the awkward mare. Th
inking over my options as I walked her around the edge of the arena, she strolled along like butter wouldn’t melt. Curving her round onto a wide circle, I pushed her forwards into a trot, more than ready for her little trick. When the gate appeared in view, she tensed, resulting in a tap on the shoulder from me. She squealed, shaking her head from side to side as she tried to break the circle.
I sat deep in the saddle, preparing myself for whatever she may throw at me. We fought for nearly twenty minutes as she snatched at the bit, crabbed all over, and tried dropping her shoulder several times. Every time she misbehaved, she received a tap on the shoulder and was made to work on a smaller, tighter circle. When she did as I asked, the circle became wider and easier for her.
She gave in with a massive sigh, dropping her head and working into a beautiful outline like a pro. For the next half hour I had the ride of my life as I played with her, seeing what she could do. I rode back over to Rebecca and Paul, grinning like a Cheshire cat—I couldn’t have been happier.
“Wow.” I slid down from the saddle, my legs shaking. “What a horse.”
Rebecca smiled, taking the reins from me. “She’s a tricky little mare. She broke her owner’s back.”
I glared at Paul. “And you knew that?”
Rebecca stepped in, explaining the mare’s history to me. It sounded mostly her owner’s fault, and with her eventing career on hold whilst he recovered, she needed exercising but she always threw people off.
“She needs to be ridden and competed. She lives for it. She wants it, needs it. Now you’ve cracked her, she’ll be like putty in your hands.”
I smiled, blushing.
“She’s here whenever you want to ride. I mean that.”
I gave her my thanks before Paul drove me home. He explained to me how his sister, who was two years younger than me, had left home at sixteen, disgusted by her parents’ lifestyle and business venture. So desperate to leave them, she’d gone to live at a local riding school, living in a dirty, rotten caravan. Outraged by this, his parents tried to bring her home, only for her refusals to continue. Eventually, they reached a compromise where she agreed to a distanced relationship with them and in return, they bought her that amazing yard complete with a house.
She had changed her surname to disassociate from them but as she knew the truth behind Paul’s feelings, she’d kept a close relationship with him. A strange feeling of closeness washed over me as I revelled in the fact he’d introduced me to a “secret” member of his family. A small sliver of hope started to climb inside me.
We pulled up onto my driveway for Ash to inform me Scott had been round, asking for my forgiveness. He’d apparently gifted him a black eye to match his broken nose before telling him where to go. I smiled, walking inside my bare house. Then the reality hit home of what I’d done.
Paul chuckled next to me. “Did a proper job, didn’t you?”
I nodded, sighing. How could a couple of hours change me from a desperate woman in the middle of a meltdown to one feeling empowered and in charge of her own life?
“Here.” He pulled a card from his wallet. “Go to this place tomorrow. Tell them I sent you and to put it on my tab. Furnish your house and get yourself back on track.”
“I can’t do that.”
“Yes, you can and you will. Don’t make me come down there with you. This whole mess is my fault. This is my way of trying to make up for it.”
“How is this your fault?”
He hesitated for a second, softness seeping through his eyes. “Well, maybe if I’d been honest with you from the start, then perhaps things may have turned out differently.”
My heart warmed at his words. I looked at him, expectation rolling off me.
“No, Ky. It’s far too complicated.”
And there it was again. Those hated words that buried deep into my soul. I sighed, nodding my understanding to him. He pressed his lips to my forehead, my heart crying for him to complete me. I closed my eyes, thinking of new furniture when Ash came running in, his face pale as his hands shook with his phone in them.
He glanced at me, tears streaming from his dark eyes. “Mum’s been killed.”
Chapter Thirty-Seven
“What?”
“Mum’s been killed in an accident.”
His words rattled around my head for a few seconds before I burst into tears. Paul stepped back, allowing Ash to swallow me in a hug. Guilt about our tattered relationship gnawed at me as my legs collapsed.
“Where’s my damn sofa when I need it?”
He chuckled as he sat on the floor with me, kissing my head. After a few minutes, I regained enough composure to ask the vital questions.
“How? When?”
“Just before seven this morning our time. It was just before one in the morning their time. I don’t fully understand what happened myself. Something to do with one of the horses getting out during a thunderstorm. She went to catch it but it spooked or something and kicked her in the head. It killed her outright.”
I gasped. “What? Mum wouldn’t be that daft.”
He shrugged his shoulders. “It seems she was.”
I frowned, suspicion setting in right away. “Tim told you, didn’t he?”
Ash sighed, pushing me away. “Don’t start this again, Ky. Please. Not now.”
“Why have you never believed me? I don’t get it. He’s a creep, Ash.”
“Kyra—”
“Whoa, steady on guys.” Paul intervened, taking my hand and putting some distance between Ash and me. “Don’t fall out now. This is where you’re supposed to support each other.”
Ash crossed his arms. “He’s booked us onto the first flight out. We fly at seven, which means we have about two hours before we need to leave.”
I snorted. “Typical Tim. Taking control of everything again. Why can’t you see it?”
“Kyra, he’s just paid for our flights for goodness sake. Have some damn gratitude and respect.”
I glared at him. “Why can’t you respect me in the fact that what I said is true?”
His jaw clenched before he announced he was going home to pack some stuff. I trudged upstairs, feeling defeated. Paul followed me up, asking what the issue was.
“The guy came on to me at the wedding reception. The same reception where he’d just married my mum.”
“Ah.”
“Yes. It wasn’t just a case of him trying a glancing kiss. He pinned me against a wall and practically forced his tongue down my throat.” I shuddered as I still remembered the vile taste he left in my mouth. “He was too strong and his hands went places they shouldn’t have…” My eyes started watering. “If I hadn’t stomped on his foot and bit his tongue, I dread to think what would have happened.”
“Did you tell your mum?”
“Of course I did. She thought it was me overreacting to her remarrying. Ash agreed with her because he thinks Tim is the next best thing. Before he went to Australia, he spent six months in America. Some of it with them. Of course, he and Tim became best buddies.”
He wrapped his arms around me, stroking my hair. “Do you want me to come with you?”
I gasped. “You’d really do that?”
Stroking my cheek, he nodded. “Of course I would.”
“I…I really want to say yes but is it a good idea with how…odd things are with us?”
He chuckled. “I’d do anything for you. You know I would. I just…the complications…”
“I know. Stop reminding me.”
Sighing, he released me from his embrace. “Perhaps it’s best if I stay behind, but if you do need me, promise you’ll call?”
I nodded. “Of course.”
Spending the next couple of hours packing my life into a suitcase with the man of my dreams next to me was less than easy. Especially when I combined that thought with the reality of having to see Tim again in a few hours. When Ash reappeared to drive us to the airport, tearing myself away from the safety of Paul’s arms only made my heart ach
e even more.
Chapter Thirty-Eight
The flight to Austin was a little over ten hours. Silence had encompassed us during the majority of the flight. What Ash had failed to tell me earlier was that good old Tim had also paid for Ben to come out with him. How charming. I was pleased Ben was with us but also fuming that I was seemingly on my own as Ash turned to Ben for comfort.
We trundled our way through the airport towards the exit, my stomach turning into a complicated mixture of gnarled knots as I braced myself for meeting Tim once again. He was picking us up from the airport and the closer it came to seeing him, the more nauseous I felt. My mind had replayed that night over and over again, refusing to let it go.
Walking through the doors outside, there he was, leaning up against his big black truck, legs crossed at the ankles as he chewed on gum. He looked far from the grief stricken husband he should be. His panther-like green eyes settled on me and a depraved smirk spread across his face.
“Well, hello there.”
Hearing his lazy Texan drawl once again sent shivers down my spine. Ash gave him a man hug before introducing Ben. I stayed well back, letting Ash steal the show. The less attention that man had on me, the better.
Ash turned to me, his eyes glowering. “Kyra?”
I nodded, sighing. “Hi.”
Tim broke out into a huge smile. “Hello, dear. Good to see you again.”
He took a step forwards, his arms outstretched. I glanced at Ash, who narrowed his eyes at me. I had little choice but to accept Tim’s hands wrapping around me in a supposed hug. Patting his back in my half-assed attempt at a hug back, his hands dropped to my lower back.
“You look good.”
His whisper covered me in chills, and I stepped back. He let his hands wander around my hips before allowing us to get in the truck. I chewed on my lip and kept my thoughts to myself. I was well aware Ash was watching my every move like I was a naughty child or something.
The half an hour drive back to the ranch was quiet on my behalf. Ash took pleasure in catching Tim up on all his adventures of late. As we turned down the dusty road to the guest quarters, my stomach turned itself inside out. Why was he putting us down here and not in the main house?