by HELEN HARDT
I saw where this was going. Joe was a master at harboring guilt. “Don’t do that to yourself,” I said. “We were all adults. It was all our responsibility.”
“Still, I should have—”
Marjorie stood. “Stop it! Stop this right now. We all should have looked at the body. We all should have stopped this long ago.”
“Marj,” Talon said. “You didn’t even know anything about it until the guys and I told you.”
“Well, stop protecting me. I’m not some fragile glass ornament that needs to be wrapped in bubble wrap. I’m as strong as the rest of you.”
Our father smiled from across his desk. “Yes, baby girl. You are.”
Marj’s eyes began to soften. When he’d tried to keep her away from ranch work, she’d had none of it. She learned to run the ranch right alongside the rest of us, all the while remaining Daddy’s girl.
She was our father’s Achilles’ heel. Maybe that could come in handy. Though Marj was nobody’s fool. She wouldn’t appreciate being used. Plus…she’d held on to him for dear life when she saw him. She wouldn’t harden easily.
“Start talking, Dad,” Joe said icily. “And don’t leave out one single solitary detail.”
Brad Steel coughed into his fist. “What you all need to understand is that everything I’ve done was for your protection.”
“What about the future lawmakers?” Joe demanded. “Why did you fund them? How couldn’t you tell they were bad people? You can’t say you did that for our protection. We weren’t born yet.”
“I’ve made many mistakes, and I have many regrets.”
Joe scoffed. “Sell it to someone who gives a damn.”
“I did the best I could by you.”
“By keeping our mother from us? By keeping us from our father as well?” Joe stood, grabbed an empty chair, and hurled it at the wall. It crashed against a framed photograph of Aspen trees, and the wooden legs splintered from the seat.
Marjorie screamed. Talon sat, rigid, while my body went tight, as if I were a balloon and the air was being squeezed out of me.
Our father had no reaction to Joe’s outburst except for a slightly raised brow. “You will understand after you know everything.”
Joe snarled like an animal. “Don’t bet on—”
“Help!”
Fuck! That was Ruby’s voice. Coming from her room. I stood and bolted.
Ruby was administering CPR to one of the little boys, who lay, naked and wet, on the floor of her bedroom. She pumped at his heart ferociously. “Come on, damn it. Breathe, Donny, breathe!”
Then she tilted his head, pinched his nose, opened his mouth, clamped her lips over it, and delivered two rescue breaths.
After she lifted her head, she began chest compressions again. “Call 9-1-1, damn it!”
I pulled out my cell phone and dialed, and then it occurred to me that there probably wasn’t any 9-1-1. My father and siblings had congregated in the room. I grabbed my father’s shirt collar. “Who do we call in an emergency? Damn it, who?”
“I’ll take care of it,” he said and returned to his office.
Talon knelt down beside Ruby, his hands shaking. “What the hell happened?”
“Come on, damn it!” Ruby punched on his chest again.
And the little boy coughed and sputtered up water.
Ruby sat back, weeping. I went to her and held her. “It’s okay, baby. He’s okay. He’s breathing.”
Talon touched the little boy’s forehead. “Can you sit up?”
Donny, still coughing, choked out, “No. I was supposed to die!”
“You’re alive,” Talon said. “And we’re all glad you’re alive. Your brother will be glad.”
He coughed again. “No, he won’t. We made a pact. If either of us had the chance to end our own life, we’d do it.”
Talon shook his head. “Why?”
“So the bad men wouldn’t hurt us anymore.”
Talon held the boy to his chest. “The bad men won’t hurt you anymore. I promise. They won’t. You’re going to have a long life. I promise that too.” His eyes glossed over.
Talon seemed to have the boy under control, so I tended to Ruby as she sobbed against my shoulder. “Shh, baby. It’s okay.”
She rubbed her nose on my shirt and sniffed, facing me. “It’s my fault.”
“How is this your fault? Ruby, you saved him. He’s alive because of you.”
“No.” She shook her head, sobbing. “I put him in the tub. He said”—she glanced at Talon—“he said his bum hurt. I thought sitting in a tub would help. He said he could do it himself. But I kept watch. The door was cracked. It was only a few inches of water. I didn’t leave him!”
“Of course you didn’t. You didn’t do anything wrong.”
“But then I heard something from the office.”
Joe’s tantrum. Damn it. “I’m so sorry. That was—”
“It doesn’t matter what it was. I shouldn’t have stopped watching for a second.”
“He’s old enough to take a bath by himself.”
“He’s only seven. What was I thinking?”
“Ruby, how old were you when you started taking a bath by yourself?”
“I don’t know. Five, I think.”
“So was I. You didn’t do anything wrong.”
“He was doing so well. He was talking. He was eating. Playing with the puppies.” She pressed her head back to my shoulder. “I never imagined…”
“You couldn’t have known what he’d try. Please. You didn’t do anything wrong, baby.”
Talon was rocking Donny in his arms. “You’re safe now. There’s no need for your pact anymore.”
“But Dale said—”
“Shh. When was the last time you talked about the pact?”
“In the room. Before you came.”
“Well, things are different now, aren’t they? You’re here, and no one here will hurt you.”
“But Dale won’t talk. Not even to me.”
“Dale is just…” Talon paused. Then, “Dale’s going through some stuff. But it’s over now. He’ll come around. I’ll make sure he’s okay.”
Donny nodded and sank his head against Talon’s chest. My brother would make a good father when the time came. A damned good one. Ruby still sobbed softly against my shoulder.
Suddenly the door slammed open, and Dale ran in, Marabel at his heels.
“Donny!” he yelled. “Are you all right?”
Donny lifted his head from Talon’s chest. “I’m sorry, Dale. I tried.”
“No!” He grabbed his little brother into a bear hug. “No, God. I’m so sorry. I never meant… I’m so glad you’re okay. That you’re alive.”
“But we made a pact.”
“It was a stupid pact. We were starving and hurting. But now we’re not. I want to live, Donny, and I want you to live too.”
It was a stupid pact, but to a seven-year-old little boy, it was a blood promise between brothers. Little boys couldn’t see past tomorrow, and I knew exactly why Donny had tried to drown himself. Because his brother had told him to. I would have done anything Talon told me to do when I was seven. I would have fought with him and gone to the bad place. But he’d told me to run.
And I had.
Donny was me. Only he hadn’t gotten away.
I looked into Ruby’s eyes, and she curved her lips upward ever so slightly. For a moment, I thought she had read my mind, but then I noticed her gaze wander to Dale. He was talking.
“Hey,” I said to her. “Tal has this under control, and my father is calling…well, whoever they call around here for an emergency so we can make sure Donny is truly all right. Let me take care of you.”
I stood, bringing her with me. She needed some TLC. I knew just how to take care of her and just where to do it.
* * *
Back in the guesthouse decorated all in white, I searched the kitchen for something to help Ruby relax. All I could find was some regular black tea bags. It was
better than nothing. I quickly put some water to boil on the stove.
She sat at the table, her head in her hands. When I brought her a cup of tea, I kissed the top of her head. “He’s fine. And we’ll keep extra eyes on both of them now.”
“His bum hurts. That’s what he told me. And we all know why it hurts. This is all so horrid!” She rubbed at her temples. “He’s seven, Ryan, and his brother is ten. The same ages you and Talon were when…”
My heart jolted and broke at the same time. Her thought was something that had already occurred to me. This little brother hadn’t gotten away.
I sat down in the chair next to Ruby. No words came to me. All I could think about was little Donny’s fate—a fate I’d been spared.
Then Ruby looked at me with fire in her blue eyes.
“Take me to bed, Ryan. Now. Please.”
As much as I always wanted her, I wasn’t sure sex was what she needed. “Ruby—”
“Don’t argue with me. Just fuck me. Fuck me until I can’t stand. Show me that something wonderful still exists in this horrible place.”
She stood and pulled me out of my chair. She quickly undid my belt and zipper and tugged my jeans and boxers over my hips.
I couldn’t help myself. In spite of the horror we’d both just witnessed, my cock sprang out, ready, as always, for her sweet lips, her sweet cunt. I expected her to kneel down and take me into her hot mouth, but instead she shed her slippers and yoga pants and sat down on the kitchen table, legs spread.
“Please, Ryan. I need you. Now.”
I pushed into her wet heat.
She was ready, her vanilla musk wafting to my nose. I inhaled. Sweet magic. She was right. This was what was wonderful in this horrible place.
I pumped in and out of her. When she lowered her hand to her vulva and began fingering her clit, I nearly lost it.
But she had wanted a fuck, a fuck until she couldn’t stand. So I held myself in check and kept thrusting until her breath quickened and she moaned, soaring into climax. Once she slowed, I pulled out, turned her around, and pushed into her from behind.
“Is this what you wanted, baby?” I whispered against her neck. “Is this the fuck you wanted?”
“God, yes,” she gasped, her hips meeting me at every thrust.
I cupped one of her butt cheeks and squeezed it hard, still pummeling into her. “Come again for me, baby. You’re so beautiful when you come. You make such beautiful sounds.”
As if on cue, she shattered around me once more, and though I wanted to continue to give her the fuck she needed, I found release within her tight walls.
“God, Ruby. Please. You have to marry me.”
Chapter Thirty-Four
Ruby
I collapsed on the table, my legs barely holding me up. Well, I’d told him to fuck me until I couldn’t stand. My pussy was still contracting lightly from my second orgasm, and my breaths came in rapid puffs.
His words echoed around me, as if being carried on sound waves through the house.
You have to marry me.
He didn’t repeat them. Instead, he rubbed my still-clothed back, my shoulders, my neck.
“Relax, baby. Everything’s okay.”
But everything wasn’t okay. Nothing in this godforsaken place was okay. He knew it as well as I did.
When I had the strength to stand, I turned and gazed at Ryan. He’d pulled up his pants but hadn’t zipped or buckled them. They hung loose around his muscular hips.
“Thank you,” I said.
“For what?”
And I realized how stupid “thank you” had sounded. “I don’t mean thanks for the sex. I mean thank you for taking me away, if only for a few precious moments.”
“Baby, I needed that as much as you did.”
I pulled at my hair, which was now in disarray. My cheeks were hot with sweat. “I’m such a mess.”
“A beautiful mess.”
I gave a slight smile. “Ryan, I—”
“You saved him. Believe that. This wasn’t your fault.”
I nodded. “And Dale is talking.”
“Yes. Dale is talking. Donny’s action snapped him out of his stupor. So they’re going to be okay.” Then he let out a sarcastic laugh. “Well, at least they’re not in any imminent danger. It’ll be a long time before they’re really okay. But they have each other, and when we find their mother, they’ll have her too.”
I went into his arms for a hug.
We held each other for a long, long time.
* * *
We took a shower before heading back to the main house. Ryan walked straight to the office while I checked on the boys. They had both been exhausted and had gone down for a nap, with Marabel holding vigil over them.
For a moment, I panicked. I’d forgotten about Juliet! But I found her on the deck, sipping water and eating a plate of fruit while the pups and their mother, Jewel, frolicked around her. She was doing better. I smiled.
A doctor—I assumed he was a doctor—arrived a few minutes later to examine the boys. When he returned in half an hour and pronounced that Donny was fine, I was relieved, but I knew it would be a while before Donny was truly fine. I asked him to examine Juliet out on the deck. I went along and was relieved again to hear him say she should make a full recovery. He hadn’t, at my request, done a pelvic exam. I wasn’t sure she was ready for that. I could only hope that she hadn’t been damaged and could still bear children if she wanted to in the future.
Daphne Steel was nowhere to be found. Since she thought of those little boys as her sons, she would no doubt be distraught if she knew what had happened. Likely, Brad had kept her safe in her suite with her nurse to avoid any disruption to her routine.
If Melanie were here, she could examine and diagnose Daphne and tell us what was going on. But she couldn’t be here. She was pregnant, and she needed to stay safe. So far, her pregnancy was progressing well with no complications. She’d confided in me that her age worried her. Melanie was forty, but she had the best care available. I had no doubt that she would carry a healthy baby to term.
I jerked backward when lips caressed my neck.
Ryan had come up behind me as I gazed out the window at Juliet and the dogs.
I turned toward him. “I thought you were in the office getting the scoop from your father.”
“That was the plan, but Daphne needed him for something. My guess is she’s wondering where the boys are.”
“I was just thinking about that,” I said. “Has there been any luck in locating their mother?”
“Not yet. Now that we know their last name, my father has been looking, but it could take a while.”
“Where is everyone else?”
“Talon went to check in with the boys and Marabel, and Joe and Marj are in the office. Marj is having a hard time with all of this. Wait until she finds out Talon was taken for revenge on our father for getting our mother pregnant with her.” He shook his head, sighing. “I didn’t want her involved in this. None of us did.”
“You can’t keep the truth from her, Ryan, no matter how much you want to protect her.”
“I know. It’s been doubly hard on Joe. He feels like he has to protect all of us, and this is killing him. I’m glad Marj is with him. If she weren’t, he’d no doubt go ballistic and do some serious damage to our father.”
“Maybe that’s what your father needs.” I regretted the words as soon as I said them. “I’m sorry. My father deserves way more damage than yours.”
“I’ll agree that he deserves a lot of shit, but at this point, my father deserves just as much. Part of me wants to see my big brother pummel him. He’s quick to act without thinking, and his temper gets the best of him sometimes.”
“He won’t, though. He has a pregnant wife at home who needs him.”
“True,” Ryan said. “She’s the best thing that’s ever happened to him. She’s really grounded him.”
“I’m happy for him. And for her. She’s an amazing perso
n. She’s helped me a lot.”
“I’m glad for that.” He pressed his lips to mine in a soft kiss.
His phone buzzed against my side. He pulled it out of his pocket.
“Time to congregate in Dad’s office again.” He sighed. “Maybe I’ll get some real information now.”
I squeezed his hand as he turned to leave.
Chapter Thirty-Five
Ryan
Joe and Marj were already sitting in the office, as I’d known they would be. Marj’s eyes were still red-rimmed and puffy.
“I’m all right,” she said before I asked. “I had pulled myself together, but then the little boy…” She shook her head. “I can’t say it. I’ll start up again.”
“You cry as much as you need to, baby sister,” Joe said. “This has all been a big shock to you.”
“I can’t tell you how it felt to look at my mother for the first time. She’s beautiful, but she’s a shell of a woman. What happened to make her like that?”
“He’ll explain it all,” Joe said. “He’d better, if he knows what’s good for him. Where the hell is Talon?”
I strode to the bar on the side wall of the office and helped myself to a bourbon. Yeah, a bourbon. Wine wasn’t going to cut it. “He’s probably with the boys. He feels responsible for them. They’re the same age Talon and I were when…”
“Wow,” Joe said.
“I know.” I rubbed my temples, trying to alleviate a tension headache that was springing up. That was what the bourbon was for. “You two want anything?”
They both shook their heads.
Our father walked in then. “You sure you want to be drinking?”
I took a long sip of the hard stuff. It burned my throat with spicy warmth. “Hell, yeah. How’s Daphne?”
“She’s all right. Well, all right for her. I had to calm her down and assure her that the boys were fine. She still insists that they’re Talon and Jonah.”
“But not me,” I said, acid in my voice. “She doesn’t think I’ve come back from camp.”