The Way You Are

by Carly Fall

  “Let’s do it,” she whispered, gently tapping the beast again with her boots.

  The horse snorted and took off in a dead run.

  After passing the gate, they moved into a completely natural landscape. Being spring, Bluebonnets bloomed everywhere mixed in with tall, green grasses. Large maple trees littered the area, and she nudged Midnight again, making the horse gallop faster.

  On Midnight’s back, tearing across the countryside, that’s where she felt most alive—in her element. She loved the natural beauty of her surroundings, being with her horse, and for a short while, she could forget about how she didn’t fit in with her family or their lifestyle.

  According to the family stories, twenty-three years ago, her mother had given birth to her and had wanted to name her Diamond. However, when her mother had seen the shock of red hair, she had immediately changed her mind and named her Ruby with the middle name of Rose.

  None of Ruby’s immediate family had red hair—her mother, father,and older brother were all blonds. Thankfully, the family had kept excellent records of past generations, and it just so happened a great-great aunt had also had red hair. Ruby had been told her father hadn’t been sure she was his, but as she grew older, the resemblance had been undeniable. She shared his green eyes, pale skin, high cheekbones,and full mouth, and if she didn’t look so much like him,she would swear they had adopted her because that’s where the similarities ended.

  As the CEO of an oil company, her father had more money than they knew what to do with, hence the stable of horses no one rode, the hundreds of acres of land, and the eight-bedroom, six-bathroom, ten-thousand-square-foot house she’d grown up in.

  A true Dallas socialite, her mother spent her days playing tennis, writing checks to charity, attending seasonal fashion shows, having lunch with friends,and ducking into a plastic surgeon’s every few months for Botox injections and a tuck or two on whatever body part she felt needed work. She also organized important business dinners for her husband with people the United States government,as well as dignitaries from all over the world, hiring caterers to serve the food in their massive dining room that seated thirty.

  Her brother, John, had followed in her mother’s footsteps, except on a different level. At twenty-seven, he was king of the party scene. Every night consisted of an outing to a different club while women threw themselves at him. He’d established himself as one of the most eligible bachelors in Dallas, and women clawed at each other to try to land him as their own. Of course, he held no interest in being tied down or getting married, and Ruby didn’t blame him. If he could get the milk for free, why make any promises to the cows?

  John drove around Dallas in a Mercedes convertible, lived in a penthouse suite in the most desirable apartment complex in the city, and did nothing during the day but sleep off the night before, shop, get facials, and work out.

  Her father left at six in the morning, and on a good day, returned at seven at night.

  She, however, differed from everyone in her family.

  As a child, her mother described her as ‘husky’ and told her she would eventually ‘thin out,’ as if she were some tree that needed pruning. Ruby recalled the shame as she’d tried to fit into the designer clothes the other kids at school wore, without success.

  And, she had red hair.

  Her classmates would call her “zitface” even though she had a clear complexion except for a few freckles.

  The kids had teased her relentlessly, and many nights, she’d sit with her family for dinner and wonder why she didn’t have their natural blond locks and their long, lithe bodies. Why was she so different?

  By the time her teenage years hit, she had given up with trying to fit in and realized she would always be ‘husky.’ She began to withdraw, and when she discovered the barn and the horses who accepted her for her size sixteen, her waning interest in parties and fashion disappeared altogether, which bothered her mother to no end. Finally, at age seventeen, her father intervened and told her mother to let her be, which she did, with just a hint of disgust.

  Midnight slowed to a trot as they came to a grove of trees. The pink and white spring buds colored the trunks, and the silence soothed her. She relaxed her legs, releasing her grip on the horse’s torso.

  “That was a good run, Midnight,” she said as they walked through the grove. “We should do that again on the way back.”

  Instead of following in John’s footsteps of living off her trust fund, she had graduated from college with a degree in English and decided she would make her own way in the world. When a high-paying job hadn’t presented itself after college, she’d gone to work at the Dallas Public Library and found an apartment she could afford on her salary. She’d left her trust fund untouched.

  Having been an outcast her whole life, she wanted to show something to herself and her family—that she could make it on her own.

  Yes, scraping by proved tough, but it brought her a sense of peace and well-being. The only privilege she took advantage of amounted to the stable at her childhood home.

  She loved coming to her parents’ house from her cramped apartment. Today, after playing catching up with her mom in the kitchen, she had bypassing the home theatre, pool, the tennis court, and headed straight for the barn, where she felt most at home among the gorgeous horses and her Midnight Blue.

  Up ahead, a creek trickled through the property. She dismounted Midnight and led him toward the water by the reins. The birds sang in the trees above, and as they drew closer, she heard the water rushing. They’d had a good spring rain a few days ago, and it sounded as if the creek ran a little faster than usual.

  “Let’s get you some water,” she said, and Midnight grunted in agreement.

  As they approached the creek, Midnight shook his head and whinnied. He pulled back on the reins, his ears twitching all around.

  “What’s wrong?” Ruby asked as she tightened her grip on the leather straps. She pulled his face close and rubbed his nose, trying to calm him. “We get you a drink here every time we come out, Midnight. What’s got you so upset?”

  She scanned the area for snakes but saw none, nor did she spot any coyotes or wild pigs. Midnight reared back again, almost pulling her off-balance.

  “Hey!” she yelled, starting to get angry. “You need to calm down!”

  She sensed a presence behind her, and turned around. A man and woman stepped out from behind the grove of trees. One held a baseball bat, the other some rope. Fear gripped Ruby as they approached her. Midnight whinnied again.

  “Hi, Ruby,” the man said, tapping the baseball bat in his palm.

  He stood about her height—five-foot-six, his frame skinny. She guessed she outweighed him by at least twenty–five pounds. The woman held the rope and looked nervous as she kept pushing her black hair behind her ears. She was so thin, Ruby could probably snap her in half. Who were these people, and what did they want with her?

  “You’re trespassing,” she answered, trying to calm Midnight and sound tough all at once, even though fear raced through her. If she could get on him quickly, they could rush back to the barn and let Hank know about the intruders.

  “We’re here for you, Ruby,” the man said in a thick Texas drawl as he approached her. “We can do this the easy way, or the hard way.”

  She stepped back next to Midnight, wondering how she could get in the saddle fast enough before the man swung the bat and hurt either her or the horse.

  “Do what?”

  “Come with us.”

  Fear almost paralyzed her, clouding her thinking process and making her sweat. “Why would I want to go anywhere with you?”

  “Because, if you don’t go quietly, then I hit you with the bat and she ties you up. We then drag you out of here like a hogtied calf.”

  “W-why would you do that?” she asked, her nerves rattling, just trying to keep them talking—that’s what they did in the movies, anyway.

  He smiled. “We have our reasons. We aren’t going t
o hurt you if you come willingly.”

  Tilting her head to the side, she considered the situation. Her father had always worried about kidnapping attempts on his kids. After all, his net worth sat in the billions the last time she had bothered to ask, and he’d gladly pay any amount to keep his children safe.

  However, this seemed very amateurish. A baseball bat and some rope? She’d never given any thought to kidnapping someone, but it seemed the element of surprise would be a necessity, and she certainly wouldn’t announce her intentions to her target.

  She glanced down at the bat the man held and noticed a tattoo on his inner wrist. It looked like a picture of a leaf with some writing circling it.

  “So let’s go,” he said, smacking the bat against his palm again.

  Midnight reared up at the sound, and Ruby made no attempt to stop him. He pawed at the air in front of him, and the man and the woman turned their backs. Ruby ran towards the house.

  She heard them coming up behind her and she pumped her legs, her lungs burning. The house lay about a half-mile away, but she had to try to get there. Their footsteps closed in on her, and her breath left her lungs as an arm wrapped around her waist and she hit the ground face first.

  Twisting and turning, throwing fists and kicks, she struggled to get away from her would-be captors.

  “For a fat girl, you can sure run,” the woman said, trying to wrap the rope around her wrists while the man turned her over and straddled her. Ruby lifted her leg and kneed the man in the spine. He yelped and then glared down at her.

  “Get her tied up, Rebecca!” he shouted at the woman.

  Ruby continued to thrash, determined not to let them totally incapacitate her, a shot of adrenaline fueling her. As she tired out, she wondered how much longer she could fight them off before totally giving in. The sun shone above in the clear blue sky. How had the day gone from near perfect to completely screwed up?

  She heard him before she saw him. The ground thundered, and she looked over the man’s shoulder. Midnight barreled across the field, moving at full throttle. She screeched, thinking the horse would kill them all.

  Rebecca’s gaze followed hers, and the man glanced over his shoulder. They both scrambled to their feet and leapt to the left, leaving Ruby in his path. At the speed he traveled, she had no time to get out of the way. She wanted to close her eyes and brace for impact, but she could only watch as he bore down on her, her heart beating wildly, her fear paralyzing her. At the last second, Midnight veered to the right and came to a halt. He turned and stared at her attackers and reared up on his hind legs again.

  “That fucking horse is protecting her!” Rebecca screamed.

  “Don’t be stupid,” the man yelled.

  Midnight huffed again, walking around Ruby and placing himself between her and the kidnappers, his ears flat against his head as he pawed the ground. They tried to move around him, but he charged them, keeping his body between them and Ruby. Rearing up again, he squealed, and the would-be kidnappers took off toward the grove of trees.

  Ruby slowly stood, watching them go. She turned to Midnight, who huffed as he came toward her. She held her hand out, and he nuzzled it and grunted.

  “Thank you,” she whispered as she stroked his neck. “I think you deserve an extra carrot for that.”

  She slipped her foot into the stirrup, heaved herself up, and grabbed hold of the reins. Midnight bolted toward the house without her urging. As he glided over the fields, her eyes stung with tears and her whole body trembled. If it hadn’t been for Midnight, she’d had been a kidnapping victim. Amateur or not, they’d still had every intention of tying her up and taking her away.

  As they reached the outer gate, Midnight slowed to a trot all the way to the barn. When they entered, Hank was working with another horse and quickly moved out of their way.

  “Ruby!” he scolded. “Honey, I told you not to come barrelin’ in here like that! Even a trot is too fast. We need to bring them in walkin’, darling. I don’t want any of …”

  His voice trailed off as he gazed up at her. She pushed her hair out of her face and tried to compose herself.

  “What the hell happened, Ruby? Did Midnight throw you?”

  She shook her head and dismounted the horse. Her knees trembled, and she wondered if her legs would keep her upright.

  “No, Hank,” she whispered. “Midnight just saved me.”

  “What do you mean?” he asked as he pulled some dried grass out of her hair.

  “There were two people down by the creek, by the trees. They came out of nowhere and said they were going to kidnap me.”

  Hank’s face grew hard, his eyes narrowed. “I’m calling security and having them patrol down there.”

  He turned and headed for the phone.

  Ruby laid her cheek against Midnight’s neck and wrapped her arms around him. He whinnied softly. The tears of fear she’d been holding back finally fell as she listened to Hank order security to the outer perimeter of the property.

  He hung up the phone and approached her, his tanned, lined face worried. “Are you hurt?’ he asked. “Should I call an ambulance?”

  Scrapes and bruises slowly introduced themselves, but as far as being really hurt, she wasn’t. “I’m okay, Hank. Thanks.”

  “We need to call your daddy, Ruby.”

  She sobbed and gripped Midnight harder. “I know.”

  Chapter 4

  Garrett awoke, cursing the sun shining through the blinds. They’d gotten in around four in the morning and they’d both immediately crashed. As he stared at the ceiling, he knew today would be difficult as he needed to talk with Zach and get everything out in the open, things like “the explosion hadn’t been an accident,” and how everyone he’d talked to from the unit had been significantly altered and now possessed supernatural abilities. Brody held a deep connection with the ocean, while Lucas saw people dying before they actually did. Garrett shuddered as he thought about admitting he could turn into a bear.

  Granted, he hadn’t talked to Zach about any of it last night, and he wondered if Zach had been affected by the explosion in any way, besides being blind. When he considered that a blind man could put two bullets in another man’s head with little effort, he had to think that yes, Zach must hold some supernatural ability. But then again, Zach had said his other senses had been heightened, so maybe there weren’t any supernatural abilities to be found.

  Only one way to find out—ask.

  He rolled out of bed and his body groaned as he hit the floor for twenty pushups. After using the bathroom, he slipped on a pair of jeans and a t-shirt, taking a deep breath before opening the bedroom door.

  “Here goes nothing,” he muttered.

  He walked down the hall, the hardwood floors cold under his bare feet, and noticed Zach’s door already lay open.

  He hung a right at the end of the hall and the smell of coffee greeted him. Zach wasn’t in the kitchen, but he’d obviously found where the coffee had been kept and how to work the coffee maker.

  Pouring himself a cup, he glanced out the living room window in his sightline from the kitchen. A single-lane dirt road let onto the property, and the area had been cleaned of trees about a hundred feet all around the house. Beyond the clearing, large pine trees loomed, offering complete privacy for the houses’ occupants.

  For a city boy, it surprised Garrett that he liked the house in the mountains so much. He’d grown up in the projects of New York, raised by his Nana after his father killed someone and subsequently met his demise in prison. He didn’t remember his mama as she had left shortly after his birth. Nana had raised him with an iron fist, determined that he make something out of himself instead of following in his father’s footsteps.

  “My grandbaby ain’t going to be like his damn father!” she’d bellow if Garrett stepped out of line.

  For someone who grew up in a concrete jungle, he never thought he’d find the silence and solitude of the forest so soothing as he had become used to constant
sounds and the hustle and bustle of city life.

  In the distance, he heard a horse whinny. Now, those beasts, he could do without. The cabin served as Joe’s private space, and Garrett had been surprised to find out Joe actually liked horses.

  He heard footsteps in the living room and made his way there. Zach slowly walked around the room muttering to himself, his fingers grazing over the back of the black leather sofa and then gently brushing the lamp next to it. He continued around the room touching all the furniture. Since Joe used a wheelchair, furniture proved sparse. Savannah sat in the middle of the room, watching him.

  “Aren’t you going to say good morning?” Zach asked.

  Garrett noted he had showered, his hair perfectly combed, and the blue t-shirt he wore actually had creases in the sleeves.

  “Didn’t want to interrupt your Lewis and Clark you got going on there,” he said, taking another sip of coffee.

  Zach chuckled. “There’s not a lot of furniture in here.”

  “Yeah, I know. The guy who owns this place, my boss, is in a wheelchair, so he keeps the decorations to a minimum.”

  “It’s a big house. I’m assuming about four thousand square feet?”

  He nodded. “Yeah, probably.”

  Zach moved around the couch and sat down. “So, do you want to tell me why you came and got me and whisked me away to this nice house and all this country fresh air?”

  Garrett sat down on the recliner matching the couch. “Well, the guy I work for is a stand-up dude. When I told him I wanted to find all the members of our unit, he thought it was a good idea. He’s going to want to talk to you, by the way.”

  “What do you do for him?”

  “He can explain it better than I can, but he helps rich people who get themselves in trouble. He offers them protection and … uh … if they want him to, he takes care of their problem.”

  “It sounds illegal.”

  Garrett shrugged. “I don’t know much about the problem-solving side of his business, but I work on the protection side.”