by Susan Stoker, Cristin Harber, Cora Seton, Lynn Raye Harris, Kaylea Cross, Katie Reus, Tessa Layne
Somehow she was on her knees, Brian crouched next to her, trying to take her in his arms. She kept fighting him. She couldn’t let him win. Couldn’t let him take what little she’d managed to hold on to for this long.
“I’ve wanted a ranch like this all my life. It’s why I went into the Navy; to save up for a chance to buy a spread one day. But I got kicked out too soon, and my brother needed my help,” Brian was saying. “I sent him nearly all of my savings. I didn’t want him to lose the woman he loves. I don’t have enough to buy a ranch of my own, so yes, Two Willows got a hold of my heart, but not like you have. Never like you have.”
Cass fought her way back to her feet and lurched into the nearest pathway, Brian on her heels. She could barely see through her tears, but she knew was she had to get away. From Brian. From the standing stone.
From the General.
From everything.
“I love you; you’ve got to know that!” Brian called after her.
She broke into a run, darted into the nearest pathway, through several grassy corridors, but she must have taken a wrong turn; where the exit was supposed to be was only another blank wall of green. “Damn it!”
“Cass, I—”
Brian was still behind her. Cass sped up, racing through the twists and turns, around corners and down passages, putting distance between them until she finally left him behind. Where was the stupid exit? Cass wanted out. She wanted all this to be done. She wanted real distance between herself and Brian—not just a few green pathways—a distance she could see.
Once she thought she heard him call out, but his voice was so far away, it was quickly lost before she could even tell from what direction it had come. Her labored breathing became the only sound, loud and harsh in her ears as the dregs of the storm shredded to the southeast.
Cass kept running. Running away from the pain. From the past. She wanted to put it all behind her. Wanted to be by herself. Wanted everything to go back to the way it was—
Except no—that wasn’t any good either, she realized as she sprinted around another turn. She’d been losing the ranch out of her own incompetence. Losing her sisters to men who would have led them into lives of misery.
She wanted to go back further—to when her mother was alive, to when her father had loved them. To when Two Willows was safe—
And if that wasn’t possible, she wanted—she wanted—
“Mom, take me with you!” The cry—the one she’d held in so long—tore from her throat.
And quiet fell over her with an almost audible shock.
Cass stopped in her tracks and—frightened by the sudden lack of sound—spun around.
Shivers prickled down her spine.
No matter which way she turned, walls of green confronted her, hemmed her in. She’d never been lost in the maze before.
Never.
Where was she?
Cass’s breathing rasped in the absolute quiet.
Where was she?
She couldn’t hear anything. Not a voice. Not a bird. Not even the lowing of cattle in the distance.
Where was Brian?
Her sisters?
It was as quiet as if she was the only one alive.
As if she wasn’t alive.
Panic threaded through Cass. Despite what she’d said, she wasn’t ready to leave the world. She had a job to do: protect her sisters. She wasn’t done with that yet. And then there was Brian. She didn’t know if being with him was right or wrong—but she wanted to find out.
She took another breath and felt the rush of air into her lungs.
Not dead yet, then. But far from home, as familiar as these green walls were.
“Mom?”
Her mother wasn’t here, of course. No one was, and Cass spun around again. When was the last time she’d been alone? There was always someone with her. Someone to pretend to. A reason to keep up the façade that all was well. Even when it wasn’t.
But there was no one here now. No one but her, the tall green walls and the clearing sky high overhead.
The great, gulping sobs she’d spilled out in front of Brian had drained her, leaving her chest sore and her body hollow. Cass, too tired to run anymore, sat down in the damp grass and admitted to herself that the maze wasn’t going to let her go. And that all wasn’t well.
Far from it.
She was lonely, and scared. She missed her parents. She missed their love—and approval.
And Brian—
“I fell in love with him,” she admitted out loud. “I wanted to marry him. I wanted to raise my family here.”
A whisper of wind lifted a tendril of hair from her face, as gently as her mother’s touch had once been. A sense of peace filled Cass as she breathed out all her pain and let it go. Maybe it was okay to admit what she’d wanted.
Maybe Wye was right and the world wouldn’t end if she cried now and then. Maybe feeling her feelings wouldn’t kill her.
She was alive now.
At least, she thought she was.
Leaning back on her hands, she examined the sky high above her. The last traces of clouds were gone, leaving a sky so blue it spoke of infinite possibilities. With each deep breath, she relaxed a little more.
Maybe it was okay to take a break. Maybe that’s what she needed. Time to figure this out.
When had she stopped doing this? Sitting still once in a while and taking in how beautiful the world was? She was always so busy rushing around and solving problems. Or trying to prevent them.
Trying to control everything. But what if she couldn’t control any of it? Would it all come crashing down? Would she die, too?
This time when her tears came, they were hot, but silent, and they eased her heart instead of hurting it.
“I’m sorry, Mom,” she said out loud. “I’m sorry I haven’t done better.” She’d tried. And in the end that was all she could do, wasn’t it? No one was around, but she didn’t feel alone as she cried. She felt the grass, the maze, the sky sympathizing. She was human, after all. No worse or better than anyone else. “What do I do now?” she asked the emptiness around her when her tears dried up again. If only her mother could answer her.
Should she be with Brian? Or should she remain alone?
With a rush like an indrawn breath, the world came alive again. Birds chirped in the hedges. Cattle lowed in the distance.
“Cass!” Brian’s voice was still far away, but this time she heard his call distinctly. She cocked her head. Was that an answer? Was her mother saying she should trust him?
Cass didn’t know.
But as she slowly got to her feet, she knew she couldn’t control Brian. She didn’t think she wanted to. Life was so much more exciting when a man like him came along and swept you off your feet.
Messy. Unpredictable. Painful, sometimes.
But exhilarating, too.
Maybe that was the answer, she thought—that there was no answer. She wasn’t in control of everything and some problems she couldn’t solve. Maybe she didn’t need to know today if she’d be with Brian. Maybe she needed to wait and see.
Peace didn’t only come from making decisions; it could come from knowing you still needed time to take in all the information.
From what she’d seen, Brian was caring, loving and honest. But he also had his own past to sort out. His own wounds to overcome.
She wouldn’t drive him off the ranch. And she wouldn’t give her heart to him today—although she had to admit, he possessed most of it already.
She would wait. She’d learn more about him—and herself.
She’d discovered something truly momentous today: the world didn’t stop turning, or end in a fiery explosion, if she felt her feelings—even strong ones. No matter how much she had cried, or raged, or ran, the storm had passed, and now the sun shone in a glorious blue sky.
And she hadn’t even set off an M-80.
No matter what happened next, she’d be okay.
She’d still have that sky.
>
She’d still be Cass.
That would have to be enough.
“Cass!” Brian couldn’t understand how he could lose a whole woman in a little hedge maze.
Okay, a big hedge maze, but still.
Why wasn’t she answering him? Was she hiding from him in there? Had she escaped to the house by some back entrance he didn’t know about?
He’d gone to look, couldn’t find her there, either, and had come back to try the maze again. He was just about to call Cab for reinforcements when she strode out of the hedge entrance and came to a stop in front of him.
Brian, frantic enough to be ready to lose his temper, stopped short when he took her in. She was still soaked through, her hair in wild, wet tendrils, her eyes huge in her face.
“Where were you?”
“I don’t know.”
Her simple answer sent chills running down his spine. He’d never seen anyone look like—
Brian didn’t know what she looked like.
As if she’d stepped into a vortex and come back trailing traces of some foreign world. He wanted to touch her. Bring her back down to earth. Make sure she knew how he felt about her.
“Damn it, I don’t care about the ranch, Cass. I care about you. I love you.”
After a moment, she nodded. But she kept walking toward the house.
“Cass?” He wasn’t sure if she’d heard him. Wasn’t sure if she was back from wherever she’d gone in the maze. He’d never seen her cry like that. She usually held her emotions in such a tight check, he hadn’t known she was capable of it.
Her tears didn’t scare him, though. He’d been through tough times and he knew they came to an end eventually. The way he figured it, the two of them could work together to weather the storms life threw at them. He hoped she knew that was what he wanted. If it meant giving up Two Willows and the rest of his goals, he’d do it in a heartbeat if that’s what it took to have her in his life.
She headed for the house, and he wondered whether to follow her or give her some time. He was still trying to figure that out when a silver truck roared up the access road from the barns, past the house and out toward the highway, zipping past so close to him Brian had to jump back.
“Hey!” he called after it, but the truck didn’t slow down and Brian didn’t recognize it. He watched it turn toward town and sighed. Was everyone off their rocker around here?
A movement down the track the way the truck had come caught his eye and Brian turned to see a figure lurch into view, waver and sink to its knees.
“Lena!”
He ran toward her, too late remembering his pledge to meet her at the Park. What time was it? Surely it couldn’t be that late—
He sped up, dread knotting his stomach. Lena had needed him, and he’d forgotten all about her, too busy with Cass—
There was no time for recriminations. Not with Lena slumped on the ground, one hand to her face.
“Lena? Lena!” Brian raced for her, dropped to one knee when he reached her, took her shoulders and peered into her face, swearing when he saw the bruise that swelled one eye shut. “Who did this? Scott?”
“He said… he said…” Lena’s words were slurred, and Brian lifted her to her feet. “Keep my nose… out of his business.”
“Where were you? At the Park?”
Lena nodded, her eyes glassy with tears, something Brian never thought he’d see. The two strongest Reed women, both in tears in the course of an hour. This had to stop.
“What do you think… think… his business is on my ranch?” Lena spoke as slowly and thickly as if she’d been drinking rather than tangling with a man who had seventy pounds on her at least.
Brian burned for retribution, and he’d have it as soon as he could. First he had to get Lena to her sisters. He threw an arm under her shoulder and helped her the rest of the way. Alice met them in the doorway, her face pale and her eyes wide.
“What did you do to Cass? I think she—” She took in the state of Lena’s face. “Oh, my God. It was Scott, wasn’t it? I knew you shouldn’t be with him.”
“Keep them safe,” Brian told her. “Both of them. Don’t let them out of your sight.”
He couldn’t wait another minute.
Scott was going to pay for this—right now.
Soon he was gunning his own truck down the track that led to the highway. Scott had a few minutes’ head start, but there was only one road to town from here. If he could cut him off before Scott reached it, he was golden.
He was well past the speed limit when he spotted the silver truck far ahead of him and put the pedal to the floor to catch up. Scott must have noticed him in the rearview mirror, because he gunned his engine, too. Brian wasn’t going to lose this race, though. He had plenty of experience handling high speed activity under far worse conditions. When he drew alongside Scott, he yelled through the open passenger side window, “Get over!”
“Fuck off!” Scott tried to pull ahead, but Brian matched him, keeping one eye out for traffic ahead.
“I said, get over before I run you off the road!”
Scott lunged away from him, reaching for something. The glove compartment? Brian wouldn’t be at all surprised to find he had a weapon in there. He slammed a hand on the horn and Scott jerked, lost control of the wheel for a moment—just long enough for his front tire to catch on the dirt shoulder and drag the rest of the truck off the road. Brian slammed his brakes, then hit the gas again, keeping alongside him, using his truck to prevent Scott from finding a way back on to the macadam. The shoulder was running out, and Scott had no choice but to swerve to a stop. Brian hit the brakes again, boxing him in. He didn’t wait for Scott to find that weapon. He unbuckled his seat belt, lunged across the front seat, through the window and into Scott’s truck, landing on top of the man.
“What the fuck?” Scott managed to get the glove compartment open, but Brian grabbed the pistol inside and tossed it out of the passenger side window. He slammed his fist into the man’s face, but Scott wasn’t going to go down easy. As they grappled in the seats awkwardly, the armrests and central console getting in the way, Scott managed to open the far door and slither toward freedom. Brian went with him and together they slid out of the truck and onto the ground in a heap.
Brian scrambled to his knees first, grabbed Scott by the shirt and lifted him as he surged to his feet. His fist connected with Scott’s cheekbone.
“You fucker!” Scott swung back at him, but his punch didn’t land. Brian dimly heard a siren approaching as he struck Scott again. Scott staggered, and Brian followed up with another right hook. His fist hitting Scott’s face felt much too good. Scott shoved him away and they staggered apart just in time for Cab to appear around the tail of the silver truck.
“You boys having a good time?” Cab said jovially, his hand on his holster.
“It’ll be better when someone picks up that pistol Scott dropped.” Brian pointed, keeping his gaze on Scott, ready to grab the man if he went for it.
Cab nodded, sauntered over to where it lay on the ground, pulled out a handkerchief and picked up the weapon. “Shouldn’t leave these things lying around. Never know who’ll find them.”
“Safety first,” Brian agreed. “Right, Scott?”
“Fuck you—” Scott began, took a look at Cab and subsided.
“Any more of these I should know about?” Cab asked them.
“Nope,” Brian said.
Scott shook his head.
“Then I’ll be on my way. Enjoy yourselves, gentlemen.”
Brian cocked an eyebrow at Scott. “Now’s the time to ask the kind sheriff for help if you need it.”
“I don’t need it.”
They waited until Cab’s door slammed, the cruiser’s engine started and he drove off.
Then Brian lunged for Scott again.
“How could I have been so stupid?” Lena asked again, a bag of frozen peas pressed to the side of her face. Cass was grateful she’d sharpened up in the minutes sinc
e Brian had brought her into the kitchen. She wanted to take Lena to the hospital but so far her sister had refused to go.
“You aren’t stupid,” Cass told her. “You thought Scott cared about you.”
“Which makes me stupid,” Lena said. She, Cass and Alice were sitting in the living room. Sadie came in with a pot of tea and cups on a tray, set them on the coffee table and began to pour one for each of them. These days she was back to her jeans and boots, her face devoid of makeup. Cass thought she looked more herself again. “How many guys have I seen him beat up? He’s a violent asshole. He’s never been a nice guy. I didn’t want him to be. I thought he was hot because he rode motorcycles and got into bar fights. Fuck!” she added when she tried to take a sip of the tea Sadie handed her and lifted a hand to her split lip.
“You thought he’d never hit you. What kind of a man punches a woman?” Cass said. For a moment—just a moment—she had the urge to head to her shed and scoop up an armload of fireworks. How could anyone do this to her sister? But gunpowder and explosions wouldn’t fix Lena. She needed something else. To talk about it. To know she wasn’t alone.
“What kind of a woman doesn’t see it coming? God, I want to rip him a new one. I want to beat the crap out of him. I wish I was a man,” Lena burst out, and winced, pressing the peas to her face again. “I’ve always wished I was a man.”
“Lena—”
“No. Don’t give me that crap about how it’s better to be a woman, because it isn’t. Let’s face it; everything would be different if we were men. Howie wouldn’t have used Alice’s car to run his druggie errands. Mark wouldn’t have convinced Sadie to be part of his crew, Bob wouldn’t have made our lives miserable and Scott wouldn’t have decked me, because if I’d been a man I would have stomped his ass into the ground. None of this would have happened, because the General would have handed over the ranch and left us the fuck alone!”
Cass couldn’t deny it. But she didn’t want to hate who she was, and she didn’t want Lena to feel that way, either.
“I think Mom gave us a good example of what a woman can do—” she began, but faltered as Lena’s expression grew outraged.
