StudinTexas

by Calista Fox

  Now was the time to bite Mac and scream bloody murder so someone heard her. Hell, she even made out the hum of an ATV motor headed in their direction!

  She was about to put her plan into motion, but Mac released her. She whirled around to face him and he backhanded her soundly, right on the mouth. Her body twisted from the force of his strike and she fell to the sand, the salty grit making her split lip sting so intensely, it took several seconds for her to catch her breath.

  “You stupid bitch!” Mac hissed. “You went to the cops?”

  She spat out sand and swiped her arm over her mouth. Blood glistened on her skin in the silvery moonlight. Glaring up at him, she demanded, “What makes you think someone else didn’t call the sheriff when they heard the shots? Or when they realized Midnight had been let out?”

  He pulled the gun from the waist of his jeans at the small of his back and pointed it at her.

  “Did you go to them?”

  Sky didn’t see the sense in holding this tidbit back, so she lifted her chin and said, “Yes. I did.”

  “What do they know?” he ordered.

  “Everything.” She tried to blink back tears of pain, to no avail. “I gave them the CD. The fake contract. They have all the information they need to bust you, Mac. It was just a matter of finding you.”

  The sirens stopped, and she realized she no longer heard the ATV.

  Shit! Whoever was on it had gone in a totally different direction? The only way she’d get anyone’s attention now was to scream—and pray it was loud enough for someone to hear her.

  She opened her mouth, but the sound of the safety releasing on a gun stopped her. The snap of twigs that edged the shoreline made her gaze flash to the east.

  Suddenly, Sam emerged from the trees, his 9mm aimed at Mac.

  “Drop the gun,” he said in a low, lethal tone. “Now.”

  Sky looked back at Mac. His jaw clenched. His eyes locked with hers.

  “Do it,” she said. “He’s not bluffing, Mac. He’ll shoot you to save me. Make no mistake.”

  The hard edge in her voice gave Mac pause. He glared at her, saying, “There’s nothing for me to worry about with the sheriff. You can’t prove anything.”

  “You are so far gone in your head, it’s a wonder you can pull your boots on in the morning,” she said. “I gave the CD to the sheriff. We were still recording in the studio when you raped me. It’s all on the CD, Mac.”

  “No one’s gonna consider it rape. We were dating at the time.”

  “I said no,” she ground out, anger gripping her. “Repeatedly. I screamed it out. Repeatedly.”

  Mac twitched.

  “That’s right,” she snapped. “You know there won’t be a shadow of a doubt in anyone’s mind that it was rape. A violent one, you disgusting piece of shit. With me screaming in pain the whole fucking time.” More tears filled her eyes and streamed down her face. “And now this… Really, Mac? How do you explain away everything you’ve done tonight? A missing horse? Trespassing? Gunshots? My split lip? A gun pointed at me? Attempted kidnapping?”

  His hand actually shook.

  More commotion from the forest sent a flash of panic over his All-American features. He so did not look like an evil man. But with Mac Willet, Sky had gotten a healthy dose of how looks truly could deceive.

  “Willet,” the sheriff said as he emerged on the shoreline, “drop your weapon.”

  Both he and Ryan had their guns drawn.

  Sky said, “You might be desperate, Mac, but you’re not going to shoot me.” Right? She sucked in a breath. “Just do what they say so you don’t get yourself into any more trouble.”

  He hedged. But only briefly. Then he tossed aside the gun, his gaze never leaving hers. Ryan closed in and scooped up the weapon.

  The sheriff said, “Lower yours, Sam. Stand down.”

  Sam’s jaw was set in a hard line. His chest rose and fell quickly. Myriad emotions flickered in his emerald eyes, tearing at Sky’s heart.

  “Sam,” she said, “he’s not armed. This is all over. The sheriff has everything he needs to arrest Mac. Don’t do anything you’ll regret.”

  “I wouldn’t regret it,” he said in a steady tone. “Thought I might at one point. But at this moment…”

  “Sam.”

  He stared at her, slowly getting his breathing under control. Tension radiated through her, making her shake. Endless moments slipped by. Then he engaged the safety and stuffed the 9mm at the small of his back.

  “Hands on top of your head, Willet.” The sheriff moved in and cuffed the sidewinder.

  Sam skirted them and reached for Sky, helping her to her feet. He pulled her into his arms and her body quaked as the reality of the dire situation hit her hard. Sam held her tight while Sheriff Johnson read Mac his rights.

  Then Ryan said, “Sky, we’d like to ask you a few questions about tonight, if you’re up to it.”

  She worked her way out of Sam’s arms, albeit reluctantly. “Of course. Whatever you need.” She swiped at tears. “I want him to go to prison,” she said with conviction in her tone. “For a very, very long time.”

  Mac’s gaze narrowed on her. Rage suddenly welled within her and Sky lurched forward. But Sam caught her around the waist and pulled her back to him, lifting her off her feet.

  “Now, darlin’, much as I’d like to see you launch his balls into his throat, this isn’t in your hands, anymore. Let the law take over. Who knows, maybe there’ll be a Sky Travis fan in prison who’ll do the job for you, in your honor.”

  Panic flickered in Mac’s eyes again.

  “Right,” she conceded. “More than that, he’s a pretty boy. I’m sure he won’t lack for attention from cellmates.”

  A ripple of satisfaction helped to chase away some of the pain in her lip and the evening’s tension.

  “You can put me down now,” she said to Sam. “I promise to behave.”

  Her feet touched ground again. Sam stripped off his T-shirt and dabbed gently at her lip, then wiped away the blood on her chin and jaw. He told her, “I’ll drive you to the sheriff’s office.”

  Tension and consternation returned full force. “No, please don’t. I want to go with Ryan.” Her gaze shifted to the deputy. “You brought your cruiser, right? I thought I heard sirens from more than one vehicle.”

  He nodded. “I can bring you back too, if you want.”

  “That’d be fine. I have a remote to the gate and a key to the cottage in my pocket.” She turned to Sam. Staring up at him, she took in all the hard angles of his ruggedly handsome face and said, “You’ve been through enough, cowboy. I have to do this on my own.”

  “You don’t have to do anything on your own.” He eyed her intently. “I want to be there for you.”

  Her fingers grazed his temple. “I know. And I appreciate that. But this is all very painful for me, Sam, and I don’t want to talk about this anymore in front of you.”

  His head dipped and he whispered, “Sky. We are going to have to talk about this. It’s inevitable.”

  She shook her head. Then she stepped around him and walked toward Ryan. Over her shoulder, she said, “Tell Reese and Caleb and the others that I’m sorry for all the problems I’ve caused.” She stared into his eyes and said, “I am sorry, Sam.”

  And then Ryan escorted her up to the drive, with the sheriff and Mac preceding them.

  Chapter Twelve

  Sam went back to his cottage, slipped into a fresh shirt and returned his gun to the nightstand. He’d retrieved it when John had notified him that he’d picked up Willet and Sky heading out of the corral and down toward the lake.

  He checked on things in the stable and explained that Willet was now in the sheriff’s custody, much to everyone’s extreme relief.

  “Where’s Sky?” Reese asked.

  “She went with Ryan.” That was all he had to say on the matter. After taking one more sweep of the stalls and pens to ensure the horses had settled, he returned to his cottage, not in the moo
d for the sympathetic looks Reese continually gave him, or the way Caleb lingered close by, silently lending an ear if need be.

  But he didn’t want to talk about what had happened that evening to anyone other than Sky. They needed to sort this all out, the two of them, together. He tried to process it all in his mind, though it was nothing more than a jagged pill to swallow.

  Anxiety over Midnight missing from his stall was one thing. Fearing Willet was on the property and coming after Sky was another. Actually seeing that he’d gotten to her and had almost gotten her into his boat and away from the ranch—away from Sam—was enough to send him into angst of the nth degree.

  Adding to his fury was the pain of Sky not wanting him to take her to the sheriff’s office for more questioning. She hadn’t wanted him there. Hadn’t needed him by her side following another horrific ordeal with Mac Willet.

  Hours later, Sam was still in a shitty mood and on his third glass of scotch by the time Sky came through the front door of the cottage.

  She set her key ring on the kitchen counter and joined him at the table. She was pale and obviously still shaken. “The arraignment will happen quickly, according to Sheriff Johnson. He suspects Mac will plead no contest once he’s done rattling off the list of charges. There’s too much evidence stacked against Mac for him to even think he can convince a jury he’s innocent, including tonight’s witnesses when he admitted to raping me.”

  Sam took another sip in hopes of cooling his temper and settling jangled nerves. No such luck. He stood and paced the kitchen.

  “Why didn’t you let me take you to the sheriff’s office?” he demanded in a low tone.

  Sky sighed. “You got an earful as it was tonight. Not to mention, I could see on your face and in your eyes what it did to you to find me on the ground, bleeding. Ryan fixed me up, but…” She glanced down at her white shirt, splattered red. Her mascara was streaked too, with black smudged under her clouded blue eyes. “It kills me for you to see me like this. Not only did you have to rescue me this evening, you’re still reeling from what Mac did to me in Nashville.”

  Reeling was hardly the word he’d use. More like shredded from the inside out.

  But he nodded.

  “I see it too clearly in your eyes, Sam,” she said, her tone full of emotion. Pain seemingly the most predominant one. She gave a quick shake of her head as though to dislodge whatever thoughts she had, then said, “I need to clean up. Try to deal with all of this.” She crossed to the counter and worked the keys on the ring. “I’m going to spend the night with my aunt and uncle. I need to tell them everything before Mac’s charges become public record and the local paper runs the whole wretched story.” She groaned. “National headlines will follow.”

  “Sky.”

  She turned back to him.

  “Don’t leave me.”

  She sucked in a long breath, let it out slowly. More tears pooled in her eyes, so agonizing to witness, he might as well have glass shards scraping over his skin.

  “I need some time, Sam. I need some perspective. I need… I don’t know.” She shrugged. “To not have to face anyone until this blows over.”

  “You can’t just go into hiding. But if you don’t want to be around anyone, then just stay here. With me.”

  She brushed away a few tears, only to have more roll down her flushed cheeks. “I can’t do that, Sam. I can’t even look you in the eye.”

  Without another word, she turned away and walked out.

  Sam’s gaze slid to the counter. She’d left the house key and the gate remote. His gut twisted.

  Was she doing more than just walking out of his cottage?

  * * * * *

  After a very rough night with Mike and Ruby, Sky met with Nadine Sadler the next morning.

  “I need a place to stay for a while,” she told the real estate agent, her leg bouncing absently because she was still jacked up over the previous night’s events. And the dismal situation with Sam. “A month or so.” Until she figured out her next move. And Reese could decide what to do about replacing her at the inn.

  Nadine said, “I thought you were staying out at the Painted Horse.”

  “Nothing stays a secret in this town.” Not for long, anyway. Despite the fact her story hadn’t landed in the morning’s paper, she knew it was just a matter of time.

  “Well, we don’t have a lot of rental properties, as a rule,” Nadine told her. “Not much call for it. There’s the B&B that Lottie Daniels took over from Reese. And there’s the Wilder Inn, also here in town.”

  “I was thinking of something out by the lake. Something private.”

  Nadine gave this some thought, then said, “You’re close friends with Jack Wade. He’s got a furnished cottage on his property. He rented it out briefly, when Liza came to town. It’s vacant now that they’re married.”

  “That’d be perfect,” she said. “Must be he converted the old boat house.”

  “Yes.”

  She perked up a little. “I’ll stop by and see him. Thanks, Nadine.”

  They both stood. Nadine came around her desk and gave Sky a hug. “You take care of yourself.”

  “I will.” She pulled away and turned to go, but then faced Nadine again and said, “Anything you hear or read about me… Just remember I’m still me.”

  Nadine stared quizzically at her, but slowly muttered, “Oh-kay.”

  Sky left the real estate agent’s office, climbed into her SUV and headed straight to Jack and Liza’s. They had a big house on the lake that he’d bought from his parents when they’d left town—separately. Jack’s father was a famous author. His mother had had an affair with the reverend’s brother. It’d all been quite the scandal back in the day.

  She cringed as she thought of how the townsfolk could beat a good scandal to a bloody pulp. Jack’s father had even contributed to the overactive grapevine when he’d owned the newspaper and had run a few incriminating pictures on the front page after he’d caught his wife and Bill Bain fooling around at the Wilder Inn.

  The local rumor mill would have a field day with her story, she knew. But what could she do? She had to press charges against Mac.

  Luckily, it didn’t take more than asking Jack if she could rent the cottage for him to say yes. And though he insisted she stay there for free, she wrote him a check anyway. Then she made a quick trip into town for supplies. She’d also decided to travel to Austin the next day for more clothes, since she’d left all of her new stuff at Sam’s.

  For the first time, she thought of how few permanent things there were in her life. Her family and friends. The box of recipes. Her Escalade. That was about it. She couldn’t even lump Sam into that category, and that hurt the most.

  Her life felt damn empty all of a sudden.

  Reese called her before noon, asking in a panicked voice, “Where are you? Sam just told me you didn’t stay with him last night.”

  Her heart took such a dive south, it was a wonder she was still standing. As it was, she had to press a hand to the kitchen counter in her new rental to steady herself. She missed him like crazy and they’d only been apart for one night. Just one night.

  “We need time to adjust to everything.”

  “Time, sure,” Reese said, “I can understand that. But distance? He said he never asked you to leave. And good Lord, he’s about the most miserable-looking thing I’ve seen aside from mistreated horses.”

  “Reese.”

  “You can’t be faring much better. I know you’re crazy about him.”

  “Reese,” she repeated. “I need to figure out how to move beyond all of this.”

  “Of course.” Her friend was quiet a moment, then said, “I am just sick to my stomach over everything you’ve been through. Where are you staying? With Ruby and Mike? Sam will want to know that you’re okay.”

  “I’m renting Jack’s cottage. I… I told them what happened. Jack was just about ready to bust into the jail and pummel Mac. Guess I should be happy there are so many p
eople wanting to stick up for me and make him pay for what he did. But to tell you the truth, Reesie,” she said as tears stung her eyes once more, “it really just makes me feel like a fuck-up.”

  “Please don’t think that.”

  “I couldn’t even make it work with Sam.” She crossed to the living room and sank onto the sofa.

  “That’s not true,” Reese said. “Nothing is final between you two.”

  “Feels that way.”

  Reese sighed.

  “What?” Sky asked, her heart sinking.

  “Well, it’s just that… Sam said the same thing.”

  Her eyes closed. “Guess that makes it true.”

  “Now, Sky—”

  “I’ve got to go, Reese.”

  “Sky—”

  She disconnected the call because the tears started to fall. And the crying jag she fell into was not a soft, silent one. But definitely a necessary one if she were to ever purge herself of the past year.

  Sky avoided the inn. Reese agreed it was a good idea for her to take a week off, and she used it to find a support group in Austin where she could talk about her trauma in a safe environment that didn’t make her feel as though she were tormenting anyone further—Sam and Reese in particular.

  Sam called regularly. She let it go to voicemail. He texted. She didn’t answer. What was she going to say, anyway? Sorry for the trouble didn’t even begin to cover it. Sorry you had to hear all the gory details of my life and get caught up in them was a total understatement. Sorry you were tempted to shoot someone on my behalf…

  That one was just too painful to process. She’d put Sam in a very compromising position. Not wittingly, obviously. Although, she did take responsibility for being on the ranch when Mac decided to track her down. She’d invited a hell of a lot of trouble into all those people’s lives—not to mention her situation with Mac had put the horses in danger. Midnight, especially.

  When she finally mustered the wherewithal to return to the inn, she made the rounds with her apologies, though no one batted an eye, instead telling her they were relieved she was okay and that she shouldn’t shoulder all the blame she harbored. They were just happy she was okay.