This Love of Mine (Raine Series #1)

by Bennett, Amanda

  She hugged my grandfather tightly and when they separated, I could see tears streaming down her face. I wasn't sure what exactly was wrong with her, or what her story was, but I really didn't want to get wrapped up in it either. She wrapped her arm around my grandfather’s shoulders, and that's when I could clearly tell she was limping.

  Hmm, weird.

  For the most part, I had kept my head down and looked at the situation from under my lashes. When they approached me, I remembered my grandfather's warning to be nice.

  I glanced up and stopped. I could tell that despite all the bruises, she was a beautiful girl. Her electric blue eyes sought out mine and we were instantly locked in place. Something inside of me came to life and it was scaring the shit out of me. Her hair was a pretty chestnut brown and it grazed the top of her waistband, even though it was all unruly and matted by...blood? What the hell has this girl been going through? Before I could continue my survey of her, my grandfather cleared his throat, and then I saw his death glare.

  "Kayla honey, this is my grandson Madison. Madison this is Kayla. Can you help her into the cab of the truck, son?"

  "Yes, sir."

  My eyes never broke contact with hers until she closed them tight as we switched her from my grandfather's shoulders to mine. I could hear her labored breathing and could only assume she was in pain, so I made the decision to scoop her up in my arms and place her in the truck. I heard her take a sharp intake of breath and I silently cursed myself for even doing it. What a stupid idea.

  "I'm sorry, did I hurt you?" I knew she could see concern etched on my face, because she closed her eyes and never responded. Maybe she was embarrassed, who knows.

  Once I got her situated in the middle of the bench seat, I hopped up next to her. I made sure not to touch her, but for whatever reason she seemed almost disgusted with me. As the truck hit the main road and we were headed back to the farm, I swear I heard her whisper something to me, but I couldn't make it out. I wasn't going to ask her what she said, but then I heard it again.

  "What's that?" I whispered near her ear.

  "I said, thank you."

  "You're welcome." I grinned at her, but once again I got no reaction. Whatever, two days, that's all.

  The rest of the ride home was mundane and I almost wanted to walk home due to the uncomfortable nature of it. When we made it to the gates to the James' farm, I was all but relieved I wasn't going to have to endure a minute more. When we came up the drive, Mr. James was already waiting for us to arrive. I offered to help Kayla out of the truck, but her grandfather said he had it.

  His tone of voice implied much more, but I just brushed it off. He slowly set her on her feet and she stumbled back. I reached out and caught her just before she hit the gravel, and for the first time since I saw her, she actually smiled. It was genuine, but it didn't reach her eyes and I wondered where the light in them had gone.

  I set her back on her feet and without another word, we all parted ways.

  I wanted to ask what had happened to her, but my grandfather had basically told me it was none of my business. I may not remember Kayla from when we were little, but if a man was behind this, I would kill him. She was too beautiful of a girl to be treated so poorly.

  "Sir, wh-?"

  "I told you not to ask son. It ain't nobody's business what happened to that poor girl, besides her family. Now don't go tryin' to get to know that girl, or even tryin' to get into what happened to her. You're leavin' in two days and I'm pretty sure she's gonna need someone who is gonna stick around, to be friends with. Are you understandin' what I'm tellin' ya boy?"

  I rolled my eyes at the mere accusation that I would even try to get all up in her business, when I didn't even know her. "Yes, sir. I understand completely."

  "Alright then. Let's head in and eat some supper and then you can shower and hit the hay. We have a busy day tomorrow."

  "Yes, sir." I mumbled as I made my way inside.

  Grams' homemade chicken potpies caught my immediate attention when I opened the front door. I was famished and I could never say no to Gram's chicken potpies. "Grams, I'm gonna head up and shower real quick, I'll be back down in time to say grace."

  "Ok dear. No rush, I just barely took 'em out."

  I took the stairs two at time and showered in record time. I wanted to hurry up and eat, so I could head out to the open plot of land that connected with the James'. I wasn't expecting to see her. Hell, I'm sure she could barely walk by herself, let alone make it up a small hill, but I was secretly hopin' to get a small glimpse.

  We all sat down, Grandpa said grace and I ate like I had just been released from prison. I would have gotten away with my odd behavior, but my grandfather had to chime in on the Kayla situation.

  "Looks as if Kayla has been having a rough time, dear. If you could possibly bake up some sort of pie, I'm sure Marie would love to see you."

  "Oh that's a perfect idea Harold. I'll bake something up tonight, so I can take it over first thing in the morning. That poor girl, I do hope she will be okay."

  I was just about to say something, when I caught the stern look my grandfather was giving me out of the corner of his eye. Instead, I simply asked to be excused and then threw my hat on as I made my way into the night.

  As I got closer to the open area, I could smell smoke and I ran the rest of the way to make sure my dumb ass hadn't left a cigarette burning earlier. I almost tripped over myself when I saw the dark figure crouched on the ground. She was here. Wait, she was here? How was that even possible?

  I slowly closed the distance between us, when I saw the cherry on the cigarette turn an even brighter red. "So, not so much a good girl, huh?"

  I must've startled her because she flinched and went to stand up.

  "I'm sorry, I didn't know anybody would be out here so late. I can leave."

  Her words were muffled, almost as if she was clenching her teeth, but I wasn't close enough to tell. "It's okay, you can stay. I just have never seen you out here before, and technically you are on my land."

  "I'm pretty sure it's your grandfather's land, but yes, yes I am. Although, if I scoot back just two feet, I would technically be on my family's property."

  I thought I caught a glimpse of a smile, but my mind must've been playing tricks on me, because that stoic look she had in the truck was back.

  "I'll just head back down. I only come up her to smoke so my grandparents don't get pissed at me. They don't like it much." I toed the dirt with my work boots, debating whether or not to turn around and leave her be.

  "That's why I'm up here, but you can stay. I was just heading back." I watched her every move as she struggled to stand herself up. I wanted to help her, I really did, but my grandfather's voice was nagging at the back of my mind. When she was finally in a standing position, I took out my pack of smokes and lit one up.

  "Guess I'll be seeing you around then?" I shouted as I blew out my smoke.

  "Guess so." And then she disappeared into the thick black night.

  Chapter 9

  Kayla

  I could feel his emerald green eyes boring into the back of my head. I tried with all my might to make it down that pesky little hill, but soon ran into trouble, when my foot on my good leg caught the tip of a jagged rock. I stumbled for a second, but easily gained my footing back. I didn't want him noticing my distress or trying to help me. At this point, I didn't need anyone, and I definitely didn't need a player like him trying to snake his way into my life for the summer. The only bad habit I had kept up over the last little while was the smoking, and now even that was proving to be a horrible idea. I wasn't looking forward to having to deal with him when I needed to get away.

  As I stepped onto the back porch of my grandparent’s ranch house, I noticed my grandfather sitting in the rocking chair at the opposite end. I was prepared for the lashing I was sure I was about to get from him about my smoking, but I wasn't coherent enough to deal with much more.

  I made my way over to w
here he was, hanging my head low. If I had learned anything in the last seventeen years, it was to keep my head down. "Hi Granddaddy. Whatcha doin' up so late?"

  "Oh ya know, just takin' in the cool night air. It was a hot day today, hottest one so far, I reckon. How are ya feelin' darlin?"

  I knew he would know if I was lying, but I really didn't have the energy to get into the whole story and I knew he would stop at nothin' to get the truth. "I'm feeling a little bit better. Tired, but the pain isn't as bad." I could feel his eyes on me, but I refused to look up.

  "Looks like your leg is hurtin' ya, why don't ya come sit down next to your old granddad." He patted the rocking chair next to him and I quietly obliged. "Ya wanna tell me now, what happened without your grandmamma around, or ya wanna wait til mornin'?"

  My head shot up and fear took over my expression. I wasn't sure how much of the truth my granddaddy knew, but I figured it was bout time I told him. "I don't know exactly where to start."

  He leaned forward and his frail hands reached out for mine. I flinched a little at first contact, but he gently rubbed my hands with his and then brought them up to his lips, placing a small kiss to the back of them. "How bout ya start at when my daughter first thought it was okay to lay her hands on my precious grandbaby."

  I could feel the tears welling up behind my lids when my granddaddy talked about me like that. In such an amazingly cruel world, I had forgotten that there are actually people in this world who care about my well being.

  "It was a couple of years after Daddy left. She started drinking, a lot. After that, it was a pretty regular occurrence. It has never been this severe though, so don't think I've been keepin' things from y'all. I promise, I wouldn't do that."

  "I believe you darlin'. It ain't right, I tell ya. She ain't right, I think is the best way to put it." His grip tightened around my hands just below the now dark, fully formed bruises from Wren, and I couldn't help but gasp at the pain. "Oh lord, what are those?"

  I quickly pulled my hands back and out of his grasp, rubbing the bruises and wishing them away. "Those are from Wren." I whispered with my head still bowed.

  "And who in the hell is Wren? Is that one of your momma's boyfriends?" He was getting angry, and even though I knew it wasn't with me, it was anger nonetheless.

  "No Granddad, he was my boyfriend." I couldn't bring myself to look at him just yet, knowing disappointment was all I would see.

  "Darlin', I hope you know we don't blame you for any of this, but the fact that this has been goin' on and you haven't picked up the phone to come out sooner, well that just makes me angry. You should know by now that your grandmamma and me are always here for you. Do you understand what I'm sayin' to ya?" His finger dipped below my chin, pulling my tear stained face up to meet his. "You will live here from now on, you got me?" His voice was gentle and soothing, and the tears were now falling like rain. I couldn't bring myself to speak, so I just nodded.

  "Well, I reckon it has been quite a day for you, so let's get ya in bed and tomorrow we can discuss your smokin'." He let out a small laugh and then it happened, I smiled. I smiled a wide toothy grin and for the first time in a long time, it touched my entire face.

  My granddad deposited me off in my room that they had made up for me, before heading off to bed himself. Unfortunately, the room I would be staying in was located on the second floor, so getting up and down the stairs myself was going to be a challenge for a bit. My granddad never ceased to amaze me that is for sure. Even at his seventy-five years of age, he hauled my ass upstairs about as fast as a twenty year old could. He was an amazing man, my granddaddy. I honestly don't know what I would do without him.

  I sat at the edge of the small full sized bed for a good twenty minutes, just staring down at the bandage wrapped around my thigh. I guess I just couldn't comprehend how someone could do something so terrible to their own child. In my case, I suppose she just never wanted me to begin with. If she couldn't have my daddy and me, well then she just didn't want either of us. It's her loss. After a few more minutes of contemplating the grand scheme of life, my mind slowly started drifting to that young man named Madison.

  If I was being honest, he was an extremely good-looking guy. None of the boys at school, especially Wren, looked anything like him. I guess it's true what they say, country boys are grown better than city boys. All I could think about was what he looked like leanin' back against that old truck with his granddad. I wasn't quite sure of his age, but he had the body of a twenty something gym rat. His arms had been crossed, and every single muscle was bustin' at the seams of his plain black t-shirt. Along with his bulging muscles, came the full sleeve tattoos peaking out beneath his short sleeves and traveling the rest of the way down to his wrists.

  I had plenty of time to check him out on my long, wobbly walk over to his granddad. I didn't want to be obvious about it though, so I made sure to make my walk look even more convincing. I don't think he noticed though. He actually seemed pretty perturbed that he even had to be there. His stance against the tailgate never changed and he had a small scowl on his beautifully carved face. I wasn't sure exactly what was goin' on beneath his ball cap, but I could tell he had some hair under there. Although I'm sure I would never get a chance to see it, not that I wanted to anyway.

  I was fine being around him, and I was even willing to be nice and maybe even get to know him a bit, so I at least had one friend here. But after he dumped me off in the cab of the truck, I wasn't so sure he was going to be open to any of that.

  I slowly stood myself up off the bed and hobbled my way into the small bathroom connected to my room. It wasn't much, but it would do. Hell, at this point there wasn't much I would be complaining about. I wasn't supposed to change the bandage until morning time, but the gauze felt like it was cutting into my skin, so against my better judgment, I decided to change it now.

  This turned out to be one of the worst ideas I ever had. Once I got the ace bandage unwrapped, the thin white gauze was all but glued to my skin. I knew I couldn't get the stitches wet, so I just wrapped it back up the best I could manage. I let out a loud grumble as the pain intensified when I walked. I tried lying down, hoping I would fall fast asleep, but sleep was evading me. My mind was finding it hard to rest, when all it wanted to do was run a damn marathon. I knew my pain medicine was downstairs on the counter and I needed to get out of this stifling house, so I took my chances going down the stairs.

  I held tight to the old wooden railing, bouncing my way down on my good leg. I didn't want to wake my grandparents but being quiet was starting to become quite a challenge. As I bounced down the last stair, my foot caught on the edge of the carpet and I went flying across the floor. If I had been playing baseball, I would have been sliding safely into home. At least that's what it looked like.

  I lay still against the cool wood floor for a few seconds, just to make sure I didn't wake my granddad. When I didn't hear a sound, I scooted myself over to the dining room table in front of me, and pulled myself into one of the chairs. After the initial pain of hitting my wound against the floor started to subside, I stood myself up and made my way into the kitchen. I wasn't huge on taking pain medicine, but if it would stop this aggravating tingling, then that's what I was gonna do.

  The pill bottle said to take one every four to six hours, so me being the overachiever that I am, I took three. I was beyond caring at this point and all I wanted to do was numb the pain. I stood in the kitchen a minute longer, before deciding to go back out for a smoke. My granddad said that we would talk about it tomorrow, so I might as well smoke it up tonight, right?

  I started making my way up the small hill to the open plot of land, praying that Madison had since gone back to his grandparent’s house. I was in no mood to deal with his gorgeous, tattooed ass, or was I? I laughed at myself as the pain medicine started working its way through my system. I was feeling all sorts of loopy and thought every damn thing was hilarious. My laugh echoed off of every tree and bush around. I think I even
told myself to shush a time or two.

  My leg was feeling amazing now that I had something to dull the pain, so I all but speed walked up the hill. When I reached the top where it plateaued out, I was thankful that he was nowhere to be seen. It was considered pretty late around these parts, so I assumed I was the only drugged up asshole out in the middle of nowhere.

  I pulled my pack of smokes and lighter out of my front pocket before practically throwing myself onto the ground. My eyes were starting to cross a bit, and the stars were slowly starting to spin. I closed them for a brief minute while I lit my cigarette and when I opened them, the stars stayed where they belonged. I smiled at myself.

  Chapter 10

  Madison

  I was going to go back to the house, I really was, but for some reason I had to make sure she made it down that hill okay. When she had first stumbled, I almost went running after her, but she steadied herself and made it down. I watched her small figure disappear as I took another long drag off of my cigarette, before turning my attention towards my family's land. I took in everything around me, knowing that this was no longer my future.

  I had promised my grandfather that one day, I would take over for him, but once I started my senior year, things changed. Granted I had just graduated and I still had time to figure out what I wanted to do with my life, but I kind of already knew.

  I had been playing baseball for as long as I could remember, and in high school I only improved. I loved it. When I was out there on that pitching mound, everything else ceased to exist, except for the batter and me. I was really good too. My senior year at least a dozen scouts came out to see me. I never really expected it to go anywhere, but when I was approached by one of the scouts for Arizona State University, I couldn't pass up meeting with them.

  I was lucky enough to turn eighteen before I graduated, so I didn't need my grandfather's permission to meet with anyone. I told the scout that I was interested, but it would take me a bit to get out there to visit the campus. I had a part time job, but I wasn't making enough to pay for a trip to Arizona. When the scout told me that they would fund the trip, I was in shock. Of course the first person I wanted to call was my grandfather, but I just couldn't bring myself to break his heart just yet. It had to be a sure thing for me, before I would even bring it up.