“Why?”
“That’s the gate opening. Jon is home.”
“At two in the afternoon? He’s checking on you?”
“Go. I mean it.”
“My truck is out front,” Maddox says. “He already knows someone is here.”
“If you go out the side door, you can run around and get in and leave after he comes in the house.”
“I’m not running away,” Maddox says.
“Do you have a death wish?” she asks.
Tires screech to a stop outside. My pulse races. “Maddox, don’t do anything.”
The door flies open. “Who the fuck is in my house?” Jon sees me and Maddox and turns to Christina. “Mind telling me why this asshole is standing in my living room?”
I step forward. “I came over so we could plan Tara’s birthday party.”
He glances at Maddox. “And you needed an escort for that?”
“We were just leaving,” I say. “Christina, how about you come back to the ranch, and we can plan it there?”
“She’s not going anywhere,” Jon says. “Are you, babe?”
Christina shakes her head.
“Did you invite them over?” he asks.
She shakes her head again.
“Then they’re trespassing.” He sneers at Maddox. “I could have you arrested.”
“I’d like to see you try.”
Jon laughs. “You forbid me from coming on your property but somehow you think it’s okay to come onto mine? You think you’re better than me?”
“Oh, wow. Where do I even start?”
Out of nowhere, Jon’s fist connects with Maddox’s jaw. Christina and I scream.
“I’m calling the police,” I say.
Maddox stops me, rubbing his jaw. “The first one was free.”
Jon laughs. “As if you could stop me.”
“Christina might not fight back, but I will.”
“Are you threatening me?” He puts an arm around Christina. “In front of my wife?”
“Maddox, let’s just go.”
“You want to come with us?” he asks Christina.
She shakes her head, but I can see she’s frightened.
“She ain’t going with you.” Jon squeezes her shoulder hard enough to make deep finger indentations.
Maddox’s jaw tightens. “She is if she says she wants to.”
“Well she don’t want to, so why don’t you get the fuck out before I make y’all a matching trio.” He looks pointedly at my jaw, as if it would give him pleasure to hurt me.
Maddox pushes me behind him. “You really are a sorry son of a bitch, aren’t you?”
Jon pulls out a gun. “I may be a sorry son of a bitch, but you’ll be a dead one if you don’t get your ass off my property in the next thirty seconds.”
Maddox reaches behind him, and I stop him from pulling his gun. “It’s his house. We need to leave.”
“Better listen to the dumb bitch,” he says.
I drag Maddox to the door, looking back at Christina. “I’m all right,” she says.
Jon kisses the side of her head, then pokes her bruised jaw. “Of course you are. Why wouldn’t you be?”
Maddox backs out, never taking his eyes off Jon and never letting me out from behind him. He closes the front door, and we hurry to the truck. Once inside, he closes his eyes. “Holy shit.”
“Drive, Maddox.”
He hesitates.
“There’s nothing more you can do here.”
He moves slowly down the driveway, viewing the house in the rearview mirror. “She’s in real trouble.”
Tears escape my eyes. At the terror of having a gun pointed at us? At the thought of what he could be doing to her this very second? “I knew what was happening. I just didn’t know it was that bad.”
Maddox grabs my hand. “You can’t make her leave him unless she wants to.”
“I’ve been asking her to leave him since the day I came back from school. She likes the money and the status.”
“But what if it gets worse? At least now she gets to do things like go to lunch and shop. You think she’ll give a rat’s ass how big her house is when she becomes a prisoner in it?”
“You almost pulled your gun. What were you thinking?”
“I was thinking he hits women.”
I close my eyes. “I hate it too, but getting yourself killed isn’t the answer.”
“The next time you do lunch, I’m coming. Better yet, invite her to the ranch. We’ll have one of those intervention things. You know her parents, don’t you? Bring them. I’m sure they have no idea how bad things are for her.”
“If he ever lets her out again.”
He squeezes my hand. “You’re shaking.”
“And you’re injured.”
“It’s nothing,” he says, touching his jaw. “He hits like a girl.”
“For Christina’s sake, I hope you’re right.”
“Promise me you’ll never go back to that house.”
“What if she needs me?”
“If she’s in trouble, tell me. I’ll get the guys together, and we’ll think of something.” He briefly takes his eyes off the road. “Promise me.”
I want to ask him what I should do if she needs me after he’s gone, but I don’t. It would sound desperate, and I’ve no intention of letting on how my heart stopped when Jon pulled a gun on him. How it made me feel when I thought Maddox might die. How my life without him flashed before my eyes, and I didn’t like what I saw. Because then he’d know I am desperate. Desperately in love with him.
I let my head fall back against the headrest. “I promise.”
Chapter Twenty-nine
Maddox
I look at myself in the living room mirror, angling my face so I can see the bruise on my jaw. I lied to Andie. He did pack a pretty good punch, and it sickens me to think he probably doesn’t hit Christina more lightly because she’s a woman.
Aaron walks up behind me. “What does the other guy look like?”
I flinch. “Don’t sneak up on someone like that.”
“Did you think I was whoever hit you?”
“Forget about it. Listen, the reason I wanted to see you this morning is I need you on your best behavior today. The buyer is bringing his guys by this afternoon to check the place out.”
“Owen already read me the riot act. Something about putting his boot up my ass if I act like a delinquent.”
I try not to smile. Then I hear buzzing. It sounds like a phone, but it’s not mine, and Aaron’s is in a drawer in my bedroom. I look at his pocket. “Want to tell me why your pants are vibrating?”
He sidles toward the door. “I have to get to work.”
“Aaron. Answer the question.”
“It’s a goddamn phone, okay? So sue me.”
I hold out my hand. “Give it to me.”
He crosses his arms defiantly. “No.”
“Damn it, Aaron. I don’t want to be the bad guy here, but it’s only been two weeks. Your dad was very clear. If you don’t cut ties with the people you were hanging out with, nothing will change.”
“Good. I don’t want anything to change.”
“You enjoy getting suspended and having fights?”
His eyes go to my jaw. “Guess we have that in common.”
“If you think working on the ranch sucks, wait until you experience military school, because that’s where you’re going if you don’t shape up. Are you going to hand over the phone? If you don’t, I’m calling your dad and that’s on you, not me.”
“You’d fucking rat me out? Your own cousin?”
I stare him down.
He pulls out the phone, throws it on the floor, then stomps out.
“Who gave it to you?”
He keeps walking.
“Which one was it?”
He yells over his shoulder, “Unlike you, I’m not a goddamn tattletale.”
I pick up the phone and take it to the stables, where I find Owen
with a clipboard. I put the phone on it. “One of your guys gave this to Aaron.”
“No they didn’t.”
“How can you be sure?”
He puts down his pencil and gives the phone back to me. “Because they know their faces would be a lot more messed up than yours if they broke one of my rules.”
“You run that tight of a ship?”
“Damn right I do.”
“Then how’d he get it?”
“Beats me.”
Aaron drives past the open door on an ATV. He’s going to the hunting lodge again. He spends part of every day there, sanding and painting. It should be close to finished. “I’m going to get to the bottom of this.”
“Get to the bottom of what?” he says. “Figuring out the mind of a teenage boy?” He strolls away, laughing.
I decide on an ATV instead of riding Tadpole. I have to be back well before noon to make sure everything is ready for Hugh Jenkins. On the way to the lodge, I pass the run-in shed Andie and I holed up in during the rainstorm. It makes me wonder how couples can go from doing romantic things like that, to hating—and hitting—each other. Maybe Christina and Jon never liked each other. Maybe it’s a marriage of convenience. Andie thinks so. How anyone can love money more than their pride, more than their safety, is beyond my comprehension.
Did I just think of Andie and me as a couple? That’s ludicrous. Or maybe it’s just impossible. If she wanted to be a couple, she’d ask me to stay. I could do that. I could work for Jenkins, and if he wouldn’t hire me, I could find work as a bartender. Unless she doesn’t want to be a couple. She seems perfectly fine with the way things are. Could be the situation with Victor was so complicated, she doesn’t want to do anything but easy.
When I get to the lodge, there’s no sign of Aaron’s four-wheeler. I go inside, and it’s not much different than it was last week. Where the hell is he, and what’s he been doing all this time?
I call Owen. “Have you seen Aaron?”
“Thought he was at the lodge.”
“I’m at the lodge. He’s not here.”
“Anyone seen the kid?” he yells away from the phone. “He’s not here. He go rogue on you?”
“I don’t know. Call if you see him.”
“Will do, boss.”
“I’m not your boss, Owen.”
“Maybe not, but sometimes I think you should be.”
I get out Aaron’s phone. It’s a cheap one you can buy off the rack at any drugstore. I page through his contacts. There aren’t many, and no names, only initials. Most of the area codes are from back home, except one, which is local. I contemplate calling it but decide to wait. I’m not that desperate. It’s not like he’s run away. He’s probably off smoking weed.
I hop on my ride and take the long way back, planning to give him until noon before calling Griffin. Then I spot activity on the overgrown airstrip. Two trucks and… son-of-a-bitch, Aaron’s ATV. I stay out of sight in the tree line as long as I can, then speed over. Aaron, three guys, and a girl are sitting around, smoking pot and drinking beer.
He’s so drunk or high he doesn’t seem to care when I approach. “Maddox,” he slurs. “Hey, now I know I’ma supposed to be paintin’ and all, but I jus’ ran into some friends.”
I pull out his phone. “Which one of you is Q.T?” All I get are defiant stares, so I press the call button. The blond kid’s phone rings. “Why would you buy a phone for someone you just met?”
He shrugs. “Had some money to burn.”
The whole bunch are as wasted as Aaron. “Who’s driving?”
“Who cares?” one of them says.
I lean down in his face. “I care. You’re all underage, and this is my property. That could get me into trouble. Unless you want me calling the cops, I suggest you hand over your keys.”
“How in the hell are we supposed to get home?”
“Not my problem,” I say. “Call Mommy or Daddy.”
The kid stands up, swaying. “Yeah, right.”
“Call an Uber then. From the looks of these trucks, you can afford it.” I shove my chest against his and push him back until he touches the truck. “I mean it. Keys or cops. Your choice.”
The girl hands me a set of keys attached to a pink lanyard.
“You think I was born yesterday?” I press the unlock button on the fob, which of course does nothing. I toss them back to her. “You have ten seconds.”
Two sets of keys are thrown at my feet. I pick them up and make sure they unlock the two trucks, then I reach into the cooler and proceed to open and dump the rest of the beer. “Where’s the weed?”
“Smoked it all,” Q.T. says.
He’s lying, but I figure I’ve made my point.
“You.” I point to Aaron. “Get on the back of my four-wheeler.”
“Jeez,” the girl says. “You weren’t kidding, Aaron.”
“Told you he was a douche.” His expression is belligerent. “I can drive.”
“You’re drunk.”
“It’s not like it’s a car.”
“Your dad would hang me by the balls if he knew I let you drive one of these things in your state.” I grab the back of his neck. Not hard but firmly enough to let him know I mean business. “Sit your ass down on the back of my goddamn ATV.”
One of the guys whistles. “He’s not as big a pussy as you made him out to be, Pearce.”
I stuff the keys in my pocket. “You can pick them up at the house when you’re sober.” We drive off, and an empty beer can flies past my head.
Back at the stable, I find Zac. “I had to leave one of the four-wheelers out at the airstrip. Can you take someone out there and fetch it for me?”
He glances at Aaron and snickers. “Sure thing.”
Aaron gets off. “Does everyone here fucking hate me?”
“I don’t know. You live with them. Do they hate you?”
“They’re all robots. Some of them even have stupid Devil’s Horn Ranch tattoos.”
“They aren’t robots. They’re good workers who have respect for the job and their superiors. You could learn a lot from them.”
“Not likely.”
“Take a shower,” I say. “Drink some coffee. You have until noon to shape up. I want Jenkins thinking you’re as happy as a pig in the fucking mud, or I’ll report everything that just happened to your dad.”
He looks surprised.
“I was your age not so long ago. I understand more than you know. I want this to work out, so I’m giving you a pass—but only if you turn things around. That means no more partying. I mean it.”
“Fine.”
“And no more going off on your own. Someone will accompany you whenever you leave the stables.”
“So now I really do have to have a babysitter.”
“You brought it on yourself.”
He heads toward the bunkhouse. “I thought you said you understand.”
“I do, and that’s why I’m going to help you. Just not in the way you think.”
“I hate this fucking place.” He storms off.
“Trouble in paradise?” Andie says behind me.
I slump against the stable wall. “I’m never having kids.”
“You don’t mean that.”
“No, I don’t. Can I amend it to I’m never having teenagers?”
She laughs. “Kind of goes with the territory.”
“What are you doing here? I thought you worked over at the Double Duce on Friday afternoons.”
“Mr. Jenkins wanted to get my opinion on some of the horses you own. He’s going to have to decide which ones he’s keeping.”
“Kind of a conflict of interest, considering you work here, too.”
“That’s what I said. I love all of them. Even Kingston, and you know he’s a handful.”
“I’m more worried about the staff.”
“I’m sure he’ll be more than fair. It’s not like his guys can run both places. He’ll need workers.”
“But not M
atteo and Owen, and probably not Miguel. He’ll want his own managers.”
She turns toward the guesthouse. “I’m going to eat. Make you a sandwich?”
“Sure. I have a minute.”
I wash up as she makes lunch. After we sit at the table, she touches my jaw. “Does it hurt?”
I hold her hand to my face, and we gaze at each other. I push my sandwich away and pull her onto my lap. “It hurts less now.”
She leans down and kisses me. I am instantly hard. I unbutton her shirt and play with her breasts. We make out like teenagers at a drive-in. It’s the best five minutes I’ve had all day. A knock on the door ruins it.
“You get it while I deal with this.” I point to the bulge in my jeans, and she giggles. I splash cold water on my face in the bathroom, then stare at myself in the mirror. “Just tell her, you pussy.”
“Did you say something?” she yells from the other room.
Owen is in the living room wearing a shit-eating grin. “Didn’t mean to interrupt anything. Jenkins and his guys are here.”
I check the time. “They’re early.” I scarf the sandwich in three bites. “Thanks for lunch. See you later?” She nods, and I notice why Owen was looking at me the way he was. The buttons on her shirt are mismatched.
He and I leave, and Owen pats me on the back. “You’re not fooling anyone. We all know what’s going on with you and Doc.”
“You don’t know the half of it,” I say. “Victor, the guy she dumped, was being investigated by the FBI.”
“No shit?”
“This is more than a thirty-second conversation. I’ll tell you everything later.”
I walk slowly across the driveway.
“Looks like you’re not thrilled about the Jenkins visit either,” he says.
I’ve come to love the ranch more than any place I’ve ever lived. “Thrilled? No. I’d say I’m far from it.”
I approach Hugh with my hand extended. “Mr. Jenkins. Welcome to Devil’s Horn Ranch.”
He shakes. “Thank you for taking the time to show us around.”
Matteo and some of the others lounge along the arena fence. I motion to them. “Since there’s so much to see, I thought we could match up our guys. You know, have my ranch manager show your ranch manager around, and so forth.”
Texas Orchids (The Devil's Horn Ranch Series) Page 23
