“Not on my bloody watch,” Frankie raged.
The bronc rider crossed his arms arrogantly, a smarmy smirk marring his face. “Now, that’s the thing, darlin’. It’s not your watch, is it?”
Frankie looked as if she was set to swing a punch at him, Gabi and Megan only seconds behind her. Sra Ana put a restraining hand on Frankie’s arm. Calmly, she looked Tucker up and down. “I am sure I would like to get to know you better. I think Deb once said your name was Tucker?” she queried, firmness in her eyes.
“Yeah, Tucker.”
“Tucker, Senhor Eduardo and I are very fond of Deb and Grace.” She stressed the very. “We would not take it kindly if you were to mistreat them.”
Tucker pulled an unresisting Deb close to him. “She’s worth a lot to me.”
The girls shuddered in disgust, only making Tucker sneer more. “If we’re done here, I’ve got places to be.” Looking at Frankie’s curled lip and wrinkled nose, he chuckled slyly. “But don’t worry. I won’t stay away long.”
Deb watched him go, her face expressionless. “I don’t want to hear whatever it is you all think I need to hear. He wants us to be a family. He thinks we should give us, I mean, our relationship, a second chance.”
“Second chance!” exploded Frankie. “You guys didn’t have a relationship! You had a bloody one-night stand!”
“Frankie,” warned Megan.
“I think everyone needs to calm down,” Gabi suggested, looking at her parents for support.
“I’m sorry I’m not perfect like you,” Deb spat, venom dripping with each word. “What with your blooming perfect Luciano and your marriage. The bright shining star that graces us with your presence. But this is my life and you can butt out.”
Frankie jerked back as if Deb had struck her, her hand flying to her mouth, hurt flaring in her eyes. “You can get stuffed, Deb. I bloody hope you know what you’re doing for Grace’s sake, but I want you to think about one thing. For someone who wants to be a family so much, he never even stuck around long enough to actually meet his daughter.” She choked out the last words and flew out the door.
Deb turned cold eyes to the shocked group that remained. “If you have all said what you need to, I’m going to go lay down.”
Mitch swerved, swearing in surprise as Frankie’s truck hurtled past him on the Affinity Ranch drive, a hail of spraying rocks hitting his truck like bullets. Stone the flaming crow, Frankie. What’s got your panties up in a bunch? The ranch was eerily empty as he pulled up. Even the horses seemed subdued. A prickle of apprehension ran up his spine. For a split second, he wondered if maybe Frankie was running away from something or someone.
Deciding he couldn’t leave without making sure Deb and Gracie were safe, he determinedly marched to the bunkhouse. Inside, barely audible, he could make out soft baby noises, but otherwise, all was quiet. He knocked on the door, a feeling of unease still heavy in his stomach. When no answer was forthcoming, he checked the handle to see if it was unlocked and, finding it was, opened the door.
Baby Gracie was laying on her back on a brightly colored playmat underneath arches strung with toys. Deb stared at her vacantly from the couch. Distressingly, she gave no visible acknowledgement she was even aware of his presence. He cleared his throat.
“Hey, Deb. Everything okay here?”
She turned unblinking eyes to him. “Do you know how sick and tired I am of everyone always asking me that? It’s not like anyone actually cares what the answer is, anyway. You all just need to start minding your own business.”
For a moment, Mitch was struck by the thought that this wasn’t Deb, but someone else in her body speaking. “I thought you were my business. You and Gracie.”
Her expression seemed regretful for a moment, but it was gone before Mitch could even be sure he had seen it correctly. “Mitch, I can’t be anything more than friends with you.”
The floor dropped out from beneath him, all breath robbed from his lungs. “Why? What’s changed?”
“Tucker was here. Grace’s dad. He wants to be part of her life and he wants us to try and be a family.”
“He can go take a flying leap,” Mitch bellowed, the raw denial torn from his throat. Gracie gave a little cry at the harsh sound. He bent down to soothe her.
Deb swallowed, her hands twisting together, her eyes firmly on the floor. “Please don’t make this any harder than it has to be. I owe it to him to do this.”
Mitch shook his head in bewilderment. “You don’t owe him anything. You don’t owe me anything either, for that matter. But you sure as heck owe it to you and your little girl to think about this—really think about this.”
Deb finally raised her eyes to meet his, tears shimmering in them. It was oddly reassuring to see some emotion at least. “Please, Mitch,” she pleaded. “I need to do this. I wish … it doesn’t matter now.” Her eyes dropped to the floor once again.
Mitch sunk down to his knees on the floorboards beside her. Gentle fingers tucked a strand of long hair behind her ear. Deb sucked in a frayed breath as he leaned in close.
“I think you’re making a mistake.” He wondered if she could feel the closeness of his lips, his breath warm on her ear. “No matter what happens. You need me, I’ll be there.” Loving lips brushed her forehead, lingering as if unwilling to end the moment. “Goodbye, Deb.”
His touch set off a wave of emotions, regret rocketing through him. His anguish robbed him of his strength to rise to his feet, to leave her to the mercy of a man that didn’t deserve her and Grace. At the soft click of the door closing, his façade crumbled under the weight of his loss, his heart ripped out and trampled on. As he walked away, head bowed low in grief, he could hear Grace blissfully fussing inside. Once inside the cab of his truck, Mitch buried his head in his hands and wept, his low sobs heartbroken.
Chapter 12
Megan stood, her hands clenched at her side, the slow burn of anger building as she watched the scene play out before her eyes. Deb stood, Grace held on one hip as Tucker patronized her every motion as she made him the cup of coffee exactly as he demanded. At last, he took a slurp and sprayed it over Deb, the hot liquid splashing on Grace. The baby gave a sharp cry of betrayal at the sudden pain, a new sensation. Tucker continued to berate her incompetence, wagging a finger in her face. Unable to take it anymore, Megan marched over and placed herself squarely in front of her friend.
“Enough!” she roared. Stunned silence broke out.
“I’m sorry you had to witness that,” Tucker said, shocking Megan momentarily at the thought that he had given in so easily and admitted to his unacceptable behavior. It didn’t last long. “Deb’s incompetence got the baby hurt.”
The blood began to pound in Megan’s ears. She lifted her lip in a snarl. “Get out,” she spat.
“Easy, darlin’.”
“Don’t patronize me. I’m not your darlin’. From where I’m standing, you aren’t even fit to breathe the same air as Deb and this baby. So. Get. Out!”
Tucker cocked his head, his hands spread wide in insincere regret. “Deb doesn’t want me to go. In fact, she wants me to stay right here. Permanently.” He smirked back at Megan as he patted Deb on the shoulder. Deb hung her head, not meeting Megan’s eye. “Go ahead and tell her, darlin’.”
“I want him to stay. Grace needs her father around, especially since I’m not capable of looking after her,” Deb said quietly, speaking to her feet.
Megan’s mouth gaped wide in disbelief. “Who says you aren’t capable?” she asked, astonished.
“Tucker is the only one who understands. I need him to stay.”
Megan wanted to grind her teeth in frustration. “I don’t care what crap this is,” she said to Tucker, gesturing at Deb. “But you remember—I’m watching, Tucker. There’s a lot of people who care about Deb and that baby, and if they have anything to say about it—and I’m pretty sure they have a bloody lot to say about it—you won’t be smirking for much longer.”
“I think
you’ll find I’m not going anywhere.”
“We’ll see.” Megan promised, eyeballing him as she settled back on the couch.
Senhor Eduardo stood despondently on the porch, staring morosely toward the barn and, more specifically, the bunkhouse. “He’s no good,” he grumbled. “I feel it in my bones.”
“What you feel is the aches and pains of an old bull rider,” Sra Ana said, sedately sipping her coffee. “He probably is no good, but Deb needs to decide that for herself.”
“I am worried about her. Lately, she does not seem herself. I will make him go,” Senhor Eduardo decided, pleased to have finally come to a decision about the interloper.
“You can’t. If you tell him to go, she will go with him and take our Grace with her. Then who will look out for them? At least we can keep an eye on things here, be here for her, keep her safe. She has Megan, Frankie and Gabriella.”
Senhor Eduardo looked sourly at his wife. She returned his look, smiling calmly. “I hate it when you talk sense.”
“I know.”
“As soon as Deb comes to her senses, I get to kick him off this ranch.”
“I will even help you put your boots on,” Sra Ana promised. “Now, sit down and have one of these lamingtons. I used Frankie’s recipe.”
The slamming of the door echoed through the bunkhouse. Deb was grateful Megan had already left for the morning stables. Shame filled her at the thought of her friend witnessing yet another altercation between her and Tucker. Deb, who had always been strong and feisty, was so weakened by the toxic relationship with Tucker that she constantly questioned and berated herself. It was a case of crawling through each hour, each day, until bedtime would buy her some relief. Her brain tortured her with the same thoughts on repeat. That she wasn’t good enough to be Grace’s mother. That she was going crazy. Every day, she woke drenched in sweat. Her weight plummeted. She didn’t want to die, but she didn’t want to live either.
“Mommy’s trying so hard,” she whispered woefully to her daughter. “I just don’t know what to do anymore. I feel like my head is filled with sawdust. I used to love working with the horses and now I dread I’ll have to start helping again soon and they’ll see how useless I am.” Grace gurgled at her mother, earnestly trying to get her fist into her mouth. Tears flowed down Deb’s bleak face. “Tucker is doing his best to help us. He’s right. I’m being ungrateful. He could be on the road competing if he didn’t have to stay here and keep an eye on me. I’m no good to anyone. But Mommy loves you.”
Megan viciously stabbed at the straw bedding, pretending it was that bloody Tucker. No matter how she tried to show Deb that he was no good, her friend still clung to him as surely as a drowning man to a life raft. Try as she might, she couldn’t see any sign of her once funny, confident friend.
“I said I would get you your money.” Megan’s ears pricked up at the hushed sound of Tucker’s muffled conversation. “Don’t worry about that. Me not competing isn’t an issue anymore.” She peered over the stall wall, trying to see where Tucker was. She ducked back down when she sighted him near the feed room. Holding her breath, she prayed he hadn’t seen her. “I’ve found a golden goose, so to speak. And she’ll give me whatever I ask for. All I need is a few more weeks and I’ll have all your money.”
Megan’s mind raced as she digested the conversation she had just overheard. Deb would be devastated when she told her, but at least Tucker would be out of everyone’s lives. Hopefully, once and for all.
Chapter 13
The forlorn clang of the farrier’s hammer hitting metal matched the mood that gripped Mitch’s heart as it rang out. The last nail hit home, and he lowered the horse’s leg with a frustrated sigh.
“My friend, I would ask why so glum, but I think I know what, or should I say who, the problem is,” Luciano said from where he held the horse’s head.
“I don’t understand why she is giving that bludging dipstick a chance. It’s like she has a few sheep loose in the top paddock at the moment.”
“Frankie is still on the road, sulking about what Deb said to her. But I know she is worried.”
The rattle of a horse trailer captured both men’s attention as Joao’s truck pulled up. Luciano’s face brightened. “Since you are nearly finished, why not stay? Joao and I are going to do some roping. Are you any good?”
“I don’t want to blow my own horn, but I’m pretty handy,” Mitch said modestly, packing his tools away. “Showing you fellas how a boy from the bush does it beats drinking with the flies.”
Joao joined the conversation, a disgruntled expression on his face. “You give the flies a drink?”
“Nah, mate. That would be bloody stupid. It’s when you drink alone. Enough of this yabbering. Do you wanna rope or not?”
The alcohol temporarily dulled the pain. Lately, it was the only thing that gave Mitch some quiet from the constant ache in his chest. It had been a good afternoon riding with the Brazilian boys. He’d forgotten how much he missed hanging out with his mates back home, catching up over a cold beer.
“Another one?” Luciano asked, offering up a beer.
“A fella’s not a camel.”
Luciano blinked. “I guess he isn’t.” He handed the drink over.
“Fair dinkum, he’s a straight up mongrel,” Mitch blurted angrily.
“We are speaking of Tucker?” Joao asked, hesitantly.
“What I really want to do is bail him up and make him leave her alone,” Mitch continued.
“After what he did to my Querida, I am not so fond of him myself,” Luciano agreed.
“At least you had the pleasure of giving him a good flogging.”
Luciano cracked his knuckles, the sound unpleasantly reminiscent of breaking bones. “I would happily do it again.”
“If you like, I can make him disappear. No one will ever find him again. I know some people that will even send you a video of him suffering before the end.” Stunned silence greeted Joao’s unexpected revelation.
Mitch laughed, slapping his knee. “That’s funny as all get. You’re the last bloke I would expect to be able to make someone cark it.”
Joao smiled modestly. “I have contacts back home.”
“Does Senhor Eduardo know what sort of man is making puppy dog eyes at his daughter?” Luciano chuckled. “Maybe if Gabi knows this, she would be more interested.” He slapped his friend on the shoulder. Joao smiled bashfully.
“Maybe we shouldn’t knock him off,” Mitch decided. A flash of inspiration came over him, burning the numbness away. “How much to just kneecap him?”
It was as if Deb watched from the outside, a stranger in her own body as she listlessly changed Grace’s nappy. She was lethargic in her movements, a nameless trance still holding her in its sway. Even Megan’s surprise appearance wasn’t enough to shake her from its grip as she finished and picked her baby up.
“Deb, I need to talk to you.”
“Anything you say to her, you can say in front of me,” a male voice condescendingly responded. Tucker’s large frame filled the doorway—the only way out of the nursery.
“Deb, I know Sra Ana would like to have a visit with Grace. Why don’t we head over there and have a cuppa?” Megan suggested, her expression tightening with desperation, her eyes wide as if trying to send a message.
Tucker didn’t move from the door, crossing his arms over his chest. “Deb isn’t going anywhere. At least not with my daughter.”
Megan’s mouth fell open and she shot a look towards Deb. But Megan didn’t understand, she didn’t understand that she couldn’t go anywhere without Tucker. She would never be able to comprehend how terrified she was of hurting Grace without him there.
“Deb, I know you’re somewhere in there and I sure as heck need you right about now.” She grabbed Deb’s hand and tried to pull her forward. “We’re leaving, all of us.” But Deb remained still, as if her feet were embedded in concrete.
Tucker smirked at Megan. “I told you they weren’t going an
ywhere,” he sneered. “Isn’t that right, darlin’?”
“Megan, I’m staying here with Tucker. We’re a family,” Deb said in a flat monotone.
“Deb, you don’t mean that. He’s only using you. Can’t you see that?” Megan pleaded. “He’s broke and he somehow owes someone money. He thinks you’ll give it to him.”
How could Megan even suggest such a thing? Of course Tucker couldn’t have another motive, Deb didn’t have the money to give, so how could that even be possible? “I don’t believe you. Tucker is here for us.”
“You need to shut up and mind your own business,” Tucker threatened, taking a step into the room.
“Look at him, Deb. He’s scared ‘cause he knows I’m telling the truth.” Megan’s voice grew stronger.
“I said shut up!” Tucker roared. He picked up the carved cradle and threw it against the wall. It shattered on impact.
“What the bloody heck is going on here?”
Mitch’s voice jolted through Deb and she couldn’t find any words as the scene quickly played out before her. Mitch rushed into the room, grappling with Tucker. His balled fist collided with his nemesis’s cheekbone, snapping his head back. Tucker stumbled, nearly falling over. Mitch grabbed his opponent by the shirt and heaved him to his feet, bringing his fist to Tucker’s face, snapping his nose in a grotesque fashion. Satisfaction flared on Mitch’s face as Tucker tried to defend himself, but his movements were too slow. Realizing he had beaten him, Mitch threw him away in disgust.
Deb dropped to her knees, Grace safely in her arms, beside the broken pieces of the cradle. Her last remaining thread of strength frayed before snapping completely, sending her plummeting over the edge and into the darkness. Hysterical sobs shook her thin frame, threatening to tear her apart from inside. She fought to reclaim control over her body, shocked by the sounds escaping from deep inside her chest. Deb picked up a fragment of carved wood, feeling the love and care Mitch had put into each etching he had made.
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