Stetson

by Danielle Norman

  Braden moved the mouse to the bottom toolbar and clicked on the mail icon, opened it, and then clicked on the first email that popped up. He copied the email address that it was addressed to, which was mine—damn it all to hell—and then pasted that into our bookkeeping program.

  “London, never use your regular email address for any logins. Whether it be this program, your bank, or Facebook. Hackers have to figure out both of these and your email is the ranch’s email address, it’s way too easy and you made their job even easier.”

  Then just as methodically as he did with the code to the computer, he began trying combination after combination until he was granted access.

  “What’s your point to all of this?” I was still dazed by the fact that he had opened the locks and gained access as easy as one, two, three, and my life...our livelihood was ripe for his picking. This was just one more thing to add to the list to prove that I couldn’t do what my dad had done, I wasn’t fit to run the ranch.

  “I’m just doing my job.”

  I snorted. “I don’t think that a deputy’s job requires cracking codes or invading privacy.”

  “No, you’re right. I’m talking about my job as your boyfriend and someone who cares. If I can help, I will. I just wanted to show you that, just like Marcus’s ex-employee, Ryan could have gotten your information. You sent him home for his attitude and you moved Wally into a lead position, so he had to suspect something was coming, and as such he may have been gathering information just in case you finally did fire him. Please let me help. What I’m doing will help you. It will show you where you need to tighten your security.”

  “No it isn’t. It’s showing me that I’m incompetent. That I’ve opened myself up to being robbed blind or whatever.” I hit the tape dispenser when I swung my hand out to emphasize my point, and it crashed to the floor. I left the damn thing there. “So when Marcus brought this up, you knew immediately that you better check mine huh? Odds were a stupid female like me wouldn’t know how to keep her shit safe, is that what you’re saying?”

  “No, nothing like that. I’m not sure why Marcus is here but he pulled up as I was escorting Ryan out. One thing led to another, and we got to talking about making sure the three of you were safe.”

  “So you discussed my safe and computer password?”

  “No, nothing like that. Will you stop jumping to conclusions? I was getting Marcus up to speed about the phone calls to the students. He asked me if I was sure that was all he’d found access to, your student records. His former employee got access to all of his—”

  “Yeah, I know what she did, Marcus and I are friends, remember?” I was getting pissed because he was treating me like a child. “She logged into his business accounts from her home and was changing his alcohol orders. It took several weeks to figure it out, but by that point, the bar was hurting because each week their deliveries were off, and Marcus was pissing off customers because the trucks wouldn’t have the right stuff.”

  “Exactly. Nothing like being a bar that runs out of beer. Marcus mentioned your safe and that you did all of your business online as well. He brought it up so that you didn’t upset Holland’s clients.”

  “Too late for that.”

  “But more than that, once he mentioned it I wanted to make sure that you didn’t have everything you have worked so hard for stolen.”

  I swore under my breath. “Who do you think you are? This is not your problem. You’re a sheriff, you investigate then you go home, the rest of it is my and my sisters’ job. Not yours. Your last name isn’t Kelly. Contrary to whatever you think about Ryan and his highhanded ways, you’re acting just as bad.” I was fuming. There was no way that I’d let him make me feel so...so...inadequate—even if he was freaking right. I didn’t need saving, I could save myself, I’d been doing it for the last thirty years without him, and I’d keep doing it without him. “What makes you think that I want you interfering in my business or that I need you meddling? Whatever gave you that hint? Nothing did, you’re just assuming that I can’t do it.”

  “Clearly, that isn’t the case if I can walk into this office and get access to all of your information, London. You’re pissed because I pointed out a weakness in your system that you didn’t see. There isn’t anything wrong with that, and I would do it again if it meant keeping your business safe from assholes like Ryan. Who, by the way, I am nothing like and you know it.” .

  “Oh, really? From what I can tell you’re a chauvinistic, man whore who thinks woman are incompetent playthings. You and Ryan have a lot in common. Guess what, asshole, the game’s over. You might be a player, but you just met the umpire and I’m calling strike.” I cursed at the tears that were building up in my eyes.

  “If you truly feel that way about me after everything, then I guess there’s no need for me to hang around.” Braden looked baffled and shocked before he turned on his heel and strode from the room. A minute later, the sound of the front door opening and shutting echoed through the house. I wiped the traitorous tear that streamed down my cheek. I wasn’t upset that he left. I was livid that he would act this way. My blood was boiling. How dare he try to invade my life like he had the right to.

  Burying my face in my hands, the smell of vanilla filled the air and without looking up I knew it was Paris. She never wore perfume, and there was no need since no matter how much she wore, she’d always smell like fresh baked cookies. Paris entered my office and then moved to stand next to me, her soft hand gently rubbing my back. The hum of the ceiling fan as it circled was the only sound that flooded the otherwise silent room.

  When I finally raised my head, Paris was staring at me with sympathetic eyes. “He left, he couldn’t get out of here fast enough. As soon as he realized that I was pissed which meant he just blew his chance of getting into my pants for the night he was out of here. He’s probably flipping through his black book of skank whores right now, trying to figure out who he can get to replace me.”

  “Well, then good riddance.” Paris wiped her hands like she was sweeping off the dirt. “If he can replace you so fast then we want him gone. How dare he do that to you? I’m going to call him right now and tell him just what I think of him. How dare he leave here and immediately call another woman. Fuck him. You don’t need him. What’s his number?” Paris reached for my phone and pulled it to her but I heard the crack in her voice as she fought back her laugh.

  “Don’t do that.”

  “But you think it is. And if you think he’s that kind of man then you shouldn’t waste another second on him. That means he was only after one thing and I had him pegged all wrong. Just you wait until I tell Asher and Marcus.”

  “I didn’t mean don’t call him, I meant don’t keep acting like an idiot, I get your point. You’re making fun of me.”

  Paris threw her hands against her chest and let out a mock gasp. “Who me? Never.”

  “Yeah, whatever. You’ve made your point.”

  “Which point would that be, the one that made you listen to how crazy you were sounding or the one that made you realize that Braden is not that kind of man? But I love you no matter what, even when you act a little psycho.”

  Damn Braden. Damn that Braden fucking McManus. Damn him for making me so mad. Damn him for making me lose my temper. Damn him for making me want him and then acting so heavy handed.

  “Why did I say all those things to him? I hadn’t meant to hurt him, but he made me feel useless, and I just lost it. Why in the world can’t I control my temper around him?”

  “We’re always harder on those we love the most,” Paris said softly.

  Love. Love Braden? Did I love Braden? Holy shit, I did. Crap, I was in love. I loved him, and I had just run him off.

  “Oh my god, what am I going to do?” I tucked my head into my hands and grabbed hold of my hair, ready to yank it out. “He’s never going to talk to me again. He was so pissed when he left. I said horrible things.”

  “Give him some time, let him cool down and
then call him.”

  I wasn’t sure that he’d forgive me—hell, I wasn’t sure that I’d forgive me. I regretted everything that had transpired earlier but right now I think I was just too tired to handle all of it. I was emotionally drained. In the span of a day, I discovered that Ryan had been trying to extort money from us as well as ruin us by calling the students. Not to mention Braden believed that Ryan was the one who started the fire and poisoned the horses.

  I also needed to figure out how to protect my family from being hacked or robbed—good god, I was failing, and Dad had only been gone a few months. To top it all off, I was in love. Worse yet, I had just chased that love away. Please tell me that this was the bottom of the barrel because I wasn’t sure that I could handle any more.

  “Thanks, Paris. I’ll give him a call in the morning and apologize. Right now, all I want to do is go to bed and forget today ever happened.”

  “You and me both, you and me both.”

  When I stood, she gave me the type of hug only a sister could give, and waited around until I’d locked the office before heading to the kitchen as I headed toward my room.

  All the while, I thought about how I’d been the biggest kind of fool.

  14

  London

  Leaning on the split rail of the fence that lined the cattle pasture, I replayed the past few months of my life and how everything had gone pear shaped. I needed to talk to Braden and apologize, but the truth was that I was too chicken to pick up the phone when he had called last night.

  Maybe, I was just too scared to find out that he wouldn’t forgive me for what I’d said. Telling myself that Braden was on shift and there was no use calling him tonight anyway, I made a promise to myself that I’d call him tomorrow. Yeah, that was what I’d do. He wouldn’t have time to speak to me anyway. I’d call him first thing tomorrow and apologize.

  Heat lightning flashed across the horizon, and I loosed a deep, cleansing breath. I loved this time a day when night was just starting to fall. I knew that it was nothing more than regular old lightning far off in the distance, but I always associated it with the evening time since that was when it was easiest to see.

  Taking a deep breath, I inhaled saltiness and knew that the storm was headed our way. Needing to get a few things done before calling it a night, I walked back to the barn and stopped to see Mim. Grabbing a few apples, I remembered what Holland had said about the horses knowing I played favorites, so I put the apples back into the bag and picked up the whole thing instead. As I walked down the row, I handed each one a tart treat. “Here you go, Ursula, Shere Khan, Tremaine, and Gaston.” One after one they poked their heads out of their stalls to be greeted and give a neigh at getting a snack.

  Finally reaching the end, I pulled out the last two apples and gave one to Balthazar and then turned and gave the last one to Mim. “Hi, beautiful girl, how you doing? Are you ready to get brushed?” She stuck her head out and I gave her the apple, trailing my fingers lightly down her muzzle while she ate, before heading into the tack room to grab her brush. Heading out of the main part of the stables to the back, I was stopped by two strong arms. They grabbed me—one clasped over my mouth and the other wrapped around my waist—and then I was yanked against a hard chest. In a fight or flight reaction, I jerked to pull away as the fear flooded my bloodstream.

  “Don’t make a fucking sound. I’m tired of your bullshit. It is time that I show you exactly what women are supposed to do, and that is service men.”

  Ryan pulled his hand away from my mouth and slid it to his pocket. “How dare you—”

  “Uh-uh, I told you to shut up, but you didn’t listen did you?” He pushed me to the ground, and I swung my arms out, reaching for him. “You make this so much more fun.” He pulled out a bandana from his front pocket and tried to shove it into my mouth, but I held my lips firmly closed. His heavy body straddled mine, his weight pressing down on my chest as he leaned forward to restrain my arms and pin them down with his knees. When he squeezed my nostrils shut, I bucked, trying to get him off me, but he won and it was either open my mouth to breathe or pass out.

  Being unconscious was the last thing I wanted. He shoved it in. I tried to spit the disgusting cloth out, but it was no use, he wrapped another one around my head and tied that one at the back of my skull.

  Grabbing both wrists, he tied them together with a lead rope that we used for the horses and then dragged me back to Holland’s office. Wrapping the rope around the legs of Holland’s heavy desk, it kept me low to the ground. I kicked and twisted my body as he grabbed my left ankle and wrapped a lead around it and pulled it tight. He did the same to my right ankle before he stretched me out, tying one leg to a beam and the other to a hook on the wall to my left.

  Think, London, think.

  Hands, hands, my hands were my best bet to get free. If I could pull the desk and maybe slide the rope under the leg, I would be free. Was there an uneven paver, anything? Fuck, Holland and Paris were asleep, but I hoped they would wake up to come check on me.

  I whimpered and shuddered as Ryan trailed his fingers over me, his hands were cold and the grin on his face dissolved all the strength I had as tears began rolling down my cheeks.

  “You really like pissing me off, don’t you?” I shuddered as Ryan trailed a knife along my body. “Oh, don’t be scared, I’d never hurt you. I don’t want to scar your perfect body. After all, I need to look at you when I fuck you for the next fifty years. I’m just going to remove this stupid shirt. You won’t need it anymore. I like my women naked when I fuck them,” he whispered into my ear then licked the skin down to my neck.

  I felt the tug on the material as he lifted it away from my skin and began sawing back and forth with the knife. His hands were cold, and his grin was mocking.

  Tears slid from the corners of my eyes and went down my cheeks as his mouth closed around my nipple. I had never imagined being touched by a twisted guy like him and I wished I could crawl out of my damn skin. I didn’t want it anymore.

  I told myself over and over that this was not happening.

  “Plzzz.” I didn’t even recognize the word escaping my mouth, I knew that there was no way he could understand me with this bandana shoved in my mouth, but I had to plead anyway. “Please don’t do this.”

  He then turned his attention to my jeans, the denim proving more difficult than the thin cotton of my T-shirt. He hacked them to shreds until he could lift them away from me, leaving me in only my panties. The small speck of hope I had that he would leave them on was snuffed out when the edge of the knife sliced through first the left side and then the right before he pulled them away.

  I was lying bare for him to take his fill. I continued pleading but quickly realized that my pleading was turning him on. More than once, I had to choke back the vomit that threatened to come up.

  He trailed his tongue down my neck, and it sent a shiver of revulsion down my spine.

  I whimpered and tried to kick, but I couldn’t move more than an inch.

  “There’s no point in trying to move, darling. All you’ll do is hurt yourself.” He trailed one finger down my bare chest.

  Ryan’s mouth continued its journey down my throat.

  Yanking on my hands, I endured the pain from the leads rubbing, cutting, burning into my skin, hoping that my forceful movements would break the ropes bound around me. I wouldn’t let him do this, not ever.

  It was weird what went through your mind at a time like this. He was towering over me, and I held my eyes shut because I didn’t want him to see the fear in them. But in my mind, I had an entire motivation convention going on.

  No matter what happens, I will get through this. I will not let this change me. I am not defined by what he does to me.

  Over and over I repeated the inspirational, psychological, mumbo jumbo.

  15

  Braden

  I sat on the side of State Road 46 and clocked cars, trying to catch speeders. Well, pretending to try to catch people
speeding. My mind was out of it and this was pretty much as brainless a job as I could do. Hold, aim, clock. I missed being able to stop by the ranch and see London and eat Paris’s cooking. I had figured she needed some time to calm down and then she would realize that I had only been trying to help, but it had been two days and she hadn’t called. She also hadn’t returned my calls.

  All because I wanted to show her that she needed to tighten her security.

  Holy fuck, what was wrong with women? They had so much damn pride even when I wasn’t challenging it.

  My phone rang, and I traded the radar gun for my cell and accepted the call.

  “Hello?”

  “Howdy, matey?”

  “David, you need to lay off the Pirates of the Caribbean, it’s getting out of hand. What’s up?”

  “Just checking in on you. Where you at?”

  “Running radar on 46, then going to check on the ranch.”

  “Is she talking to you yet?”

  “Not yet.” I gritted my teeth as my grip on the phone tightened.

  “Any clues at all? Have Marcus or Asher seen anything?”

  “No, and that’s what is driving me crazy. I know that it’s only been two days, but Ryan doesn’t seem like a plotter. He’s a hot head, which means that it won’t be long before we know his next move.”

  “Okay, well, if you hear anything, will you let me know?”

  “Will do.” I disconnected and then put my phone into the cup holder, started my engine, and headed to London’s house.

  When I pulled into her driveway, I cut my lights and rolled to a stop on the side of the long drive just before the curve that faced their house. Sliding my phone onto my tool belt, I locked up my truck and started walking.