by J. S. Scott
Gabe gave Chloe’s mom a solemn nod.
“Tell the police we’ll be at the courthouse,” Blake said brusquely.
Tate jogged for the door. “I’ll land in your pasture. Clear the horses,” he said over his shoulder.
Gabe picked up his phone and immediately had Cal moving the horses so Tate could set down and pick them up without freaking out the pregnant mares.
“Got a change of clothes?” Blake asked casually when Gabe got off his call.
Blake was smirking evilly, and Gabe smiled conspiratorially. “Planning on getting your hands dirty?”
“Very,” Blake growled.
“Let’s go.” He nodded his head toward the stairs, and led the way for Blake to hurriedly get changed into jeans and a sweatshirt. They were pretty close in size, and Gabe’s clothing fit Blake well enough.
All the men were already in the pasture when Tate landed, maneuvering the helicopter like a bat out of hell. Honestly, Gabe was glad Tate was an expert pilot and could fly them as quickly as possible. The sooner they arrived at the courthouse of the county seat the better.
The men jumped into the aircraft with the two women looking on anxiously. The police were just arriving, and Gabe finally saw Lara and Aileen go to greet them.
The helicopter lifted off almost immediately, and Gabe nervously checked the time again.
Hang on, sweetheart. We’re on our way. We’re cutting it tight, but we’ll get there.
Gabe just hoped they made it before his woman ended up married to the wrong man.
Sitting outside the judge’s chambers waiting to be married to a man she loathed was one of the hardest things Chloe had ever had to do.
She wanted to run.
She wanted to hide somewhere James would never find her.
She wanted to hightail it back to Gabe and continue living in a happy place.
Most of all, she wanted to hurt her ex the way he had hurt her.
Instead, she was sitting on a hard wooden bench, waiting for her life to go in the worst direction possible. She’d been unable to find the device with the original video James was using to blackmail her. Until she did, she was willing to do almost anything to stop it from going public.
Her family didn’t deserve to pay for her mistakes.
“He’s ready, honey,” James said loudly with a false smile after opening the door to the chambers.
What had he told the judge? That she was nervous, that she was fearful or shy? Maybe her ex was planning on trouble from her, but there was no point in asking for help. She wouldn’t be here if she weren’t willing to marry James to silence him.
She didn’t smile back. She’d stopped playing his games a long time ago. It would be better if he dropped the crap and just acted like the snake that he really was. Chloe could deal with the whole thing a hell of a lot better.
Getting to her feet, she walked through the door, her head held high. She’d be damned if she’d let him know how sick with fear she was at the moment.
James had paid two complete strangers to act as witnesses, a middle-aged couple who probably needed the money. Chloe nodded to them as she entered the room, unable to speak due to the lump in her throat.
Rituals were performed, and she went through the motions of agreeing to marry James. At least it was a civil ceremony, and it would be mercifully short.
The judge started to talk, standing in the middle of the room as the witnesses took a seat. Chloe stood stoically with James in front of the elderly male judge, her gut roiling in protest.
Every part of Chloe balked, her mind screaming at her to leave before she made the biggest mistake of her life. Granted, she could divorce James if she could find the original video. But what if she didn’t find it? He’d have control of her money, and she doubted she’d ever see the man she loved or the ranch she adored ever again.
Stop it, Chloe. Stop it now! You’re running out of time.
Everything happening at the moment seemed surreal…but not in a good way. Chloe felt like she was in a nightmare, one that kept her standing exactly where she was, getting ready to repeat the vows that the judge was rapidly coming to in the ceremony.
“Do we have rings?” the judge asked politely.
No, I don’t have a ring. The bastard was always too selfish to get me one.
Chloe would have taken anything back then, any kind of symbol that they were engaged. But James had never had the inclination to think about rings.
“We don’t believe in rings to symbolize our love,” James said charmingly as he took both of Chloe’s hands in his.
She shuddered as he touched her, almost unable to keep herself from pulling away.
The judge straightened his glasses. “Very well. We can go on then.”
No. Please. Don’t go on. This man doesn’t love me. He hates me, hates women in general. Someday I won’t be able to stop him from hurting me.
Her mind was like a playback of her life with James: every time he hurt her and every time he’d minimalized his abuse with glib excuses. He’d been charming sometimes, making Chloe believe that eventually his bad behavior would stop.
It never had.
It had taken him awhile to show his true colors, starting off as an adoring boyfriend. Little by little, that behavior had worn away, and she’d been left with nothing but self-blame, guilt, and shame.
“Chloe, are you going to repeat your vows?” the judge asked after clearing his throat…loudly.
No!
Yes.
“Hell no, she isn’t. She’s coming home with me, and she isn’t leaving here a married woman,” an angry, possessive male voice sounded from the door.
Oh, God. Gabe?
Chloe froze as she turned toward the door. Just inside the chambers stood Gabe, Tate, Blake, and Zane, all of them wearing murderous expressions.
“What are you all doing here?” she asked remotely, her tone shaky and confused.
“Saving you, sweetheart,” Gabe said as he strode forward and took hold of Chloe’s upper arm gently. “No wedding,” he said in a clipped voice to the judge.
Blake stepped up to introduce himself and have a conversation with the man who had been ready to marry her and James, his vague explanation of a misunderstanding clarifying very little for the bewildered judge.
“So, there isn’t going to be a marriage ceremony?” the official asked, as though he needed more clarification.
“No.”
Tate, Zane, Blake, and Gabe answered in unison in adamant voices.
“Come with me,” Gabe rasped, nudging Chloe toward the door.
She suddenly snapped out of her dazed stupor. “I can’t. Gabe, I explained what I wanted on the phone.”
“Yeah. And it was a whole lot of horseshit,” he rasped into her ear so nobody else could hear.
“What happened to your hand?” She noticed he had a bandage wrapped around his palm, and cuts on his fingers.
“Accident. I slammed my hand into something, but it’s fine now,” he answered vaguely. Unceremoniously, he picked her up and Chloe was forced to wrap her arms around his neck. He carried her to the nearest exit, and she could hear angry male voices starting to argue from the partially open door to the judge’s chambers.
Then, she was outside, taking gulps of cool air as she tried to get out of Gabe’s hold. “Let me down. You don’t understand.”
“I understand everything perfectly, Chloe, and I hate myself for waiting until the next morning to check your office.” He lowered her slowly until her feet found purchase on the ground.
He’d found the video; she could see it in the look on his face. His expression was somewhere between remorse and repulsion. She hadn’t thought about gathering things from her office. She’d cleaned her stuff out of her bedroom and fled, not thinking about the possibility that the laptop could still be working. She’d thought the vicious landing had destroyed the device, but obviously she’d been wrong. “You found out what he was planning,” she said needlessly.
He nodded jerkily.
“Then you understand why you can’t all be here right now stopping this wedding. I looked for the computer where the video was initially stored, but I couldn’t find it. But I’ll keep looking.”
“Marrying him would be like sacrificing yourself to a pack of hungry wolves,” Gabe grunted angrily. “Your brothers don’t give a shit about their image right now. That’s why they’re here. All they want is for you to be happy and safe. Jesus, Chloe, they love you. Did you really think they’d want this?”
Oh, crap. “Did they see the blackmail material?” She looked down at her shoes, horrified at the thought that her brothers might have seen what James had done.
“No, Chloe. Do you really think I want anybody to see what he put you through?” Gabe asked her, his voice sounding disappointed and raw.
She looked up at him, meeting his green-eyed gaze. There was hurt in his eyes as she answered, “I don’t think you’d ever want to hurt me, but I thought maybe—”
“I only told them that he was abusive. You need their help. Let the people who care about you support you, Chloe.”
“I know they care about me, but I can’t shame all of them for my misjudgment,” she told him desperately. “I have to marry James.”
“No you don’t,” Gabe answered flatly. “We found the original video and it’s been destroyed. You’re free.”
It took Chloe a moment to take in exactly what Gabe was saying, studying his face with hope in her heart. She swayed and immediately Gabe’s arms tightened around her. “I don’t have to marry him?”
“No. Zane found the laptop with the video hidden away at James’s house,” he answered in a graveled voice. “You can head back with Lara and Tate. You can go back to your mom’s house, or you can come back to the ranch, be with me. Your choice.”
He didn’t move, didn’t speak again while he let her make her decision. Chloe watched his face, afraid that after seeing her video, he didn’t want her anymore. “I’d rather be with you if you’ll still have me,” she finally whispered nervously.
“Thank God,” Gabe announced loudly, scooping her up and holding her body close to his. “Have you? I need you, Chloe. Don’t ever lie to me again. If something happens, we handle it together.”
“I thought I had to lie. I’m sorry,” she told him remorsefully as she held onto him for dear life. “I didn’t want anyone to get hurt because of me.” She burst into tears of relief, her body shaking as she let go of the tension that had been building inside her since she had given herself up to James.
“You can tell me anything, and we’ll work it out together,” he told her in a voice that was muffled against her hair. “I wish you’d told me about all the things that he did to you. I feel like a jerk now for playing the boss in the bedroom.”
“Don’t,” Chloe told him adamantly, sniffling as her tears stopped. “I loved every minute, and you aren’t James. He’s my past. You’re my future, and it isn’t the same thing. Not even close. It’s actually pretty hot.”
“How can you say that after he—”
“Because it’s true. At any point, would you force me into anything?”
“Never.”
“Then it’s not the same. There’s a difference between an evil man and a wicked one,” she teased him softly.
“Are you saying I’m wicked?” Amusement entered his tone.
She shrugged. “Maybe a little, but it’s wonderful when you’re wicked.”
“You ready?” Tate asked as he exited the door slowly, looking as though he was hesitant to interrupt their conversation.
“Ready for what?” Chloe asked curiously.
“Tate, drop Chloe off at the ranch. Your mom and Lara are there, sweetheart, anxious to see you safe. He’ll come back for me, Blake, and Zane. We need to straighten out a few things here,” Gabe told her calmly. “Go on. I’ll see you in a while.” He nodded toward Tate.
“What things?” Chloe asked suspiciously.
“We need to make sure the marriage license gets destroyed. It’s never going to be used. And Blake and I want to have a little talk with James. You’ll be safe now, Chloe. Your family will take care of you.”
Gabe felt like her family now, even though he probably didn’t know that. She watched as he strode back inside the door, and then Tate moved beside her and put an arm around her shoulders. “Everything will be okay, Chloe. Let me take you home.”
She wanted to be at the ranch, the place where Gabe lived. For Chloe, it really was home. She nodded and let him lead her away from the county building, feeling enormous relief as she walked alongside her brother.
“What are they really up to?” Chloe asked softly.
Tate shrugged. “Settling things,” he answered noncommittally.
Chloe was silent, wondering exactly how things would be resolved. “I don’t want any of them in trouble.”
“They won’t be,” Tate said as he looked at her with a mischievous grin. “Blake’s a politician. He knows how to handle it.”
She didn’t doubt that Blake could probably keep himself out of trouble. He was great with bullshit, which was why he made an excellent politician. But Gabe and Zane were both hotheads when they were really ticked off. Zane’s temper was slow to ignite, but when it did, all hell broke loose. Gabe was very similar, and that worried her.
“Hey, don’t look so upset. Everything is going to be fine now, sweetheart,” Tate told her soothingly, tightening his arms around her shoulders as they walked toward his helicopter.
He’d set it down right in some open space of the parking lot. Strangely, there were no cars parked in the area.
She took Tate’s words to heart. It was necessary for her to believe that everything would turn out okay. If she didn’t, she’d go crazy.
“What were you thinking, Chloe? You know how much we all love you. I haven’t belonged to this family very long, but long enough to know that we stand by each other when trouble comes along,” Lara told Chloe tearfully as she hugged her.
Chloe was glad to be back at the ranch, but it was hard to face her sister-in-law and her mother, who had both just hugged the life out of her.
“I was thinking about how to stop my family from paying for my mistakes,” Chloe admitted as she untangled herself from Lara’s arms with tears streaming down her face. “I was so scared that all of you would pay for what I did.”
“Let’s get some coffee and we’ll talk. I don’t think the men will be gone for long,” Lara suggested. “I have a feeling I know exactly how they’re taking care of things. Tate’s going to be disappointed if they’re done when he gets back to pick them up.”
Chloe took a deep breath, relieved that she could busy her mind with the small task of making coffee and getting together some snacks. She loaded a tray and brought it out to where the women were still waiting. She looked around for the glass table that was usually in front of the sofa, but couldn’t find it. Finally, she just set the refreshments on a built-in shelf. She wasn’t really hungry, and her stomach was rolling too much for coffee.
Her mom and Lara each took a cup, Lara snatching up several of the snacks and tossing them into her mouth before she took a sip from her mug. “That’s good,” she said appreciatively.
The women all took a seat in Gabe’s living room.
Chloe swiped at leftover tears from the position she’d taken in a recliner, staring at her mom and Lara, who were seated directly across from her.
She’d always known her family was special, but maybe she’d never realized just how incredible they were until now. All of them had come to her side supportively and without judgment of the mess she’d made of her life. They just wanted to help her clean it up and be happy.
“It wasn’t your fault, Chloe, and you got out. You know you didn’t cause James to become a psycho,” Lara told her adamantly. “Maybe he was always this way, but he hid it. Sometimes an abusive relationship starts out okay and gets progressively worse. You two lived i
n separate states for over a decade. Natalie talked to you about how not to blame yourself for how James acts, right?”
Chloe nodded. “It was really bad once I came home to live in Rocky Springs. Before that, I guess I could just put it down to the fact that we rarely saw each other and it bothered him. He was pretty livid when I decided to do the extra residency for equines. Sometimes I did think it was me, that I needed to change. It took me awhile to realize that no matter what I did, he’d find fault just to hurt me.”
“I don’t suppose you called Natalie when he started blackmailing you?” Lara asked quietly.
“No. I didn’t have time, and I was too worried to say anything to anybody. I didn’t want to set him off and cause him to release the video. I couldn’t risk it,” Chloe admitted.
“Who’s Natalie?” Aileen asked curiously.
“She’s my counselor, Mom. I owe a lot to her and to Lara for hooking me up with help and giving me so much encouragement.” Chloe didn’t want to think about where she would be if it wasn’t for her support system. “Gabe has helped a lot, too.” That was putting it mildly, but she wasn’t about to blurt out details of her sex life to her mother. But the man she loved had taught her so much about herself, made her accept that she was a desirable woman without needing to change herself to make him want her.
“I told you that you’d know when you found the right one,” her mother reminded her smugly.
Chloe gaped. “I don’t know if he’s the right one.” Oh, she knew how she felt, but the agreement she had with Gabe was only temporary. And she was his employee.
“You know,” Lara disagreed, clearly of the same mind as Aileen. “Chloe, what are you afraid of? I know it might be too soon for you to really trust Gabe, but what Aileen says is true. Sometimes the guy is just…right, even if the timing is off. I knew Tate was the man for me pretty quickly.”
Chloe was frustrated as tears sprang back into her eyes; she replied on a tortured sob that she couldn’t hold back, “I’m afraid that he won’t love me as much as I love him. I’m afraid because he’s become the most important person in my life, and I don’t know how I’ll live without him. I’m afraid it’s too soon, and that I’ll scare him because I still have some baggage I need to throw away. I’m afraid he’ll get tired of babying me because I screwed up.” Her tears became a veritable torrent.