by A. D. Ryan
“Jensen? What’s going on? Tom says you took off from Ransom’s session like a bat out of hell, and I just passed Madison—who could barely speak two words through her sobs,” he inquired, clearly upset by his daughter’s state of distress. He wanted someone to blame, and I was the most likely suspect.
“It’s a long story—and I don’t think I even understand half of it. Why don’t you give us a minute, and then maybe stop by? There’s something going on over at Charles’ ranch, but until I talk to Madison—”
Wayne cut me off before I could finish. “If there’s something going on, don’t you think we should both talk to her? Get all the information at the same time?”
I shook my head. “No, I’d like to discuss a few things with her privately first, if that’s all right?”
“Is everything … okay?” he asked carefully.
Nervous, I pushed my hand through my hair. While I was upset that Madison put herself in danger—regardless of whether it was for a noble cause—I didn’t want to rat her out to her over-protective father. She didn’t need us both ganging up on her. “I hope so. Look, give us a bit, and then we’ll figure everything out. I think there’s more to Charles having the mustangs on his land than we realized.”
After convincing Wayne that I needed a few minutes with Madison, I headed for the house. Every step I took caused my conflicting emotions to flare up again. On one hand, I was so thankful that she was okay, but on the other, I was pissed right the hell off that she not only put her life at risk, but that of our unborn child. It was unacceptable.
My angry side must have won out as I walked into the house, because I used entirely too much force when closing the door, causing the sound of it slamming to echo through the silent house. After removing my boots, I stepped out of the small foyer and saw Madison sitting at the table, staring at her hands tightly clasped on the tabletop. The floor groaned beneath my feet, and Madison’s head lifted, her cheeks damp and her eyes red and puffy from crying.
“I’m so sorry,” she said in a shaky voice, and I wanted nothing more than to pull her into my arms and take away all her hurt.
But what about my hurt?
“What the hell were you thinking?” I asked, trying to keep my voice steady. “You realize what could have happened, don’t you?”
“Yes, but—”
“But what, Madison?” Her head snapped back in shock at the brash sound of my voice. “What possible excuse could you have for putting you and that baby’s lives at risk? Please, enlighten me.”
“It wasn’t … I didn’t … it’s just, I heard him and—”
“And what?” I interrupted again. “You ran in without knowing what the hell to expect? Dammit, Madison!”
“I know!” she cried out, the fire in her eyes igniting. “Don’t you think I know how stupid it was? How stupid I was? I get that. I do. It’s not like I went in there with the intention of being seen. I just wanted some kind of visual proof that he was mistreating these animals so we could finally do something to help them. To stop him.”
“You should have come back to the ranch and gotten someone!” I told her bluntly, my anger at her carelessness quickly escalating again as I crossed the room and pulled her to her feet. As I thought about the possibility of what could have happened, my eyes burned with tears, and I cradled her face in my hands. “Madison, I could have fucking lost you.”
“I know.” She sniffled again, the fire in her eyes fizzling as reality set in again. The look of remorse in her eyes told me she wasn’t going to fight me on this; she knew she fucked up.
Dropping my forehead to hers, I looked down at her hands moving over her belly, and my stomach rolled. “Both of you. You could’ve been killed.”
“What?” Wayne’s voice boomed from behind me, startling us both.
Chapter 23. Two Against One
“D-Daddy,” Madison stuttered, pulling her face from my hands as her eyes moved between me and her father, who had come in behind me at some point without either of us noticing. Apparently, we’d been too wrapped up in our discussion to notice much of anything.
“Is that what you were keeping from me?” he demanded, his accusing eyes narrowing in on me as he entered the kitchen with Bones at his side. “What the hell happened this afternoon?”
Madison continued to look from me to Wayne, and then back at me before exhaling loudly. “Lilah and I went for a walk, and on our way back I heard what sounded like a horse in trouble,” she began. “It didn’t take long for me to realize the sound was coming from Charles’ farm, and when I got there I found him beating on a horse.” She looked to me and shrugged. “The Appaloosa mustang.”
“And what’s this about almost getting yourself killed?” Wayne demanded, glaring angrily between Madison and me. I was sure I was going to hear something about keeping that from him, but if it was going to happen, he was saving it until later as he turned his focus back to Madison. “What the hell were you even doing on his land, Madison?”
Madison cringed, likely because it was rare he used her given name. “I needed to get a closer look. I swear I never intended to be seen. It wasn’t like I was going to just run in there and try to stop him myself. Be mad all you want, I get it, I screwed up. But I’m fine …” She continued to rub her hands over her belly. “We’re fine.”
Wayne went on lecturing Madison, saying all the same things I already had. I didn’t stop him, nor did I interrupt with anything more, because I was still pretty pissed, and Madison needed to know just how serious her actions were. She wasn’t just my world, but Wayne’s, too.
“I know, Dad,” Madison assured him. “Again, it’s not like I meant to be seen. I just wanted a closer look—some kind of proof. I wasn’t thinking; I heard the horse, and I just reacted how I would have before, without another thought in my mind.” She looked down, almost ashamed. “I’ve always looked out for the welfare of the animals on this ranch and the ones we’ve saved in the past. This is all so new to me … and I know that’s no excuse, and neither of you should forgive me any time soon—I sure won’t …”
Sighing, I took her face in my hands and looked at her seriously. “I need you to promise me—both of us—that you won’t do anything like that ever again. I mean it. Do you have any idea how terrified I was?”
Madison’s head quickly bobbed up and down in my grasp. “Absolutely … I swear. I should have waited until I spoke to one of you first. I should have listened to Lilah. I’m so, so sorry. It won’t happen again.”
I was far from over what happened, but I needed to try and move us past this. It would probably take a little while for me to be able to trust that she wouldn’t be so impulsive in the future, but I knew that it wouldn’t be good for our relationship if I dwelled on it.
After a few more moments, Wayne asked about what exactly happened between Charles and the Appaloosa. Madison explained everything, starting with how she and Lilah were headed home when they heard the horse roaring. She then went on to say that she saw Charles attacking the horse with some kind of crop or prod and the horse was bleeding.
“I think he’s attempting to gentle them with the intent to sell them. Some of the horses he’s acquired are gorgeous, and he probably thinks he could charge a lot for them. It wouldn’t be the first time we’d come across it.” Madison shuddered. “The way he was treating the Appaloosa was horrifying. It was like he was trying to break his spirit. It was terrible, and I knew there was nothing I could do by myself. So, I started to leave when I was spotted.” She shrugged before continuing. “The rest, you know.”
“Well, I’m still not pleased that you put yourself at risk, Madison,” Wayne began, his eyes still narrowed at her and showing his displeasure with her actions. “But I can’t ignore what’s been going on over there either. I just can’t believe it took us this long to figure it out.”
“It’s not our fault, Dad. He was good at keeping whatever he’s been up to under wraps all these weeks. I mean, he got rid of the mustangs—or, so we thought—
and has been keeping his misdoings under the radar until today.”
“Well, it ends. Today.” Wayne reached into his inside jacket pocket for his cell and dialed. “Don’t think you and I are done with this conversation, young lady … Chief Tanner? It’s Wayne Landry. Remember that issue I called about a few weeks back? Well, there’ve been a few new developments.”
As Wayne went into the details of what we knew now, Madison looked up at me and offered me a small smile. “Are we … okay?”
“Look,” I said, reaching out running my hand up and down her arm. “I’m not going to lie and say I’m not still upset about your actions”—Madison dropped her eyes from mine again, and I coaxed them back—“but I love you, and I want to believe that you understand just how scared I was—”
“I do.”
“Okay.” I offered her a smile, but even I knew it was weak. “Just give me a bit of time to process everything.”
She still looked hurt as she nodded her understanding, so I reached up and cupped her face, my thumb lightly running back and forth along her cheekbone. With a wistful sigh, Madison brought her hand up to cover mine and leaned into my touch. “I understand,” she whispered. “I’m going to go lie down for a bit, okay?”
Before I could reply, she started to walk away, so I grabbed her hand and drew her back to me. “Hey,” I said softly, pulling her close to me and lowering my lips to hers, kissing her softly.
With a tiny whimper, Madison wound her arms around my neck, holding me close as her mouth worked to deepen our kiss. It would have been a lie if I said I didn’t want to give in to her need for comfort and forgiveness in the aftermath of what had just happened. However, if we didn’t stop, things would progress—and I couldn’t have Wayne walk back into the kitchen to find us like that.
Kissing her one last time, I smiled and pulled back. “I love you, and I’ll be here when you wake up.”
Inhaling a steady breath, Madison smiled a little more brightly for the first time since everything happened. “I love you, too.”
Just as Madison was about to head for our bedroom, Wayne re-emerged from the living room. “Well, the chief is on his way out to check out Charles’ ranch, based on what you said you saw. He’s bringing a few deputies, and I’m hoping they have enough to arrest him on several different charges.”
“Really?” Madison asked with a sigh of relief. “That’s great.”
“Yeah, well, I’ve got a bit more work to do out at the barn, but the chief has promised to call once they have something concrete to tell me.” Madison and I nodded in unison as he continued. “Jensen, feel free to take the rest of the day—”
“Dad, I don’t need a babysitter.”
Wayne’s eyebrows shot up as he addressed his daughter. “That’s not the reason I’m telling him to take the afternoon off. It’s been an exhausting couple of hours, and now that Jeff’s here, he can pick up Jensen’s workload. Go. Rest.” Crossing past me, Wayne clapped his hand down on my shoulder and shot me a pointed look. “Make sure she takes it easy.”
“I will, sir,” I promised.
After Wayne left, I decided to join Madison for an afternoon siesta. Bones went to his bed under the far window while we lay on the bed. Rolling onto my side, I pulled Madison against me until her back was pressed against my chest, and we laid in silence for a few minutes. My right arm was draped over her body and rubbing her tummy, pressing lightly in hopes of getting the baby to push back.
Laughing lightly, Madison swatted my hand. “Don’t you dare wake this baby up, or I’ll never be able to sleep.” Chuckling, I let my hand rest on her belly. “I am sorry, you know,” she whispered after a beat of silence, tickling the back of my hand with her fingertips.
I leaned forward and kissed the back of her exposed neck. “I know, baby. I know. Come on, let’s sleep.”
We couldn’t have been asleep for very long before Madison’s phone started buzzing on her nightstand, because I still felt completely wiped out. Groggily, Madison groaned and propped herself up on her left arm before picking her phone up.
“Hey, Dad. What’s up?” she said, her voice still raspy with sleep.
I pulled my arm from around her torso and rubbed my eyes hard to clear them of the sleep-induced haziness just as Madison shot upright. “Seriously?” She looked down at me with wide eyes. “Uh, yeah, we’ll be right there.” After hanging up, she turned her whole body to me. “I guess the chief and his deputies got there and found Charles packing his truck to leave.”
I ran my hand through my hair before laying on it. “What do you mean? Like, he was going to head into town?”
“No, like he was getting ready to run,” she responded. “After taking a look around, they arrested him on several charges of animal cruelty and negligence.”
“Well, that’s great.” Madison shook her head. “It’s … not great?”
“Dad said that what the chief found was pretty frightening. One of the worst cases they’ve seen in quite a while. Dad’s going to check it out but wanted me to come and talk to Chief Tanner first.”
We pulled ourselves out of bed and headed for the barn after deciding to keep Bones home since we didn’t think we’d be gone too long. When we arrived, we found Wayne and Hardin County’s Chief of Police talking near the office. They both turned when they heard us approach, and the chief smiled.
“Madison!” he greeted. “It’s so good to see you again. How’ve you been? Your dad tells me you ran into a spot of trouble this afternoon.
Madison quickly glanced at me, blushing lightly before nodding quickly. “Uh, yeah.”
“Well, I’d like to get a statement from you on what you saw and everything else that happened.” The chief looked between the three of us. “Your dad and I are just about to head over there now, but meet me at the station tomorrow morning?”
“Sure.” Madison looked at me nervously. “I want to go with them over there,” she whispered before averting her eyes.
“Baby, do you really think that’s a good idea?” I inquired. “I mean, if they say it’s one of the worst cases … well, it can’t be good. It would destroy you.”
Nodding, she met my gaze again. “I think I have to. Is it okay if I go?”
“Of course, I just don’t want you getting too upset if things are even worse than we anticipate,” I told her softly. “You don’t need the stress right now.”
“You’ll come with me, right?”
Once we cleared it with Wayne and Chief Tanner, we piled into the police cruiser and drove the short distance to Charles’ land. As we ventured down the unkempt drive, there was a shift in the air. It was obvious we were about to see things we probably weren’t ever meant to.
Chapter 24. Worse Than We Thought
With the cruiser in park, the chief got out and opened my door so Madison and I could file out. “Look, my people are still looking around that sorry excuse for a barn, so steer clear, all right? Henry should be out here soon to assess the condition of the living livestock.”
Madison gasped sharply, her hand resting on her stomach as the color drained from her face. Afraid she might pass out, I wrapped an arm around her and let her lean into me. “Living? Oh, God …”
“I told you it wasn’t good, Mads,” Wayne reminded her grimly before going with Chief Tanner.
Madison had just started to walk toward one of the rickety old paddocks when I grabbed her by the hand to stop her. “Honey, are you sure about this? We can walk back home …”
“I’m sure. I need to see this through. I’ll let you know if I’ve had enough and we should go. I promise.”
Madison and I walked the grounds, taking in just how overgrown everything was. The fences were in horrible condition, held together with baling twine in parts and nailed together poorly in others. It was a wonder this place wasn’t condemned.
Suddenly, Madison stopped dead in her tracks, her body going rigid as she focused on something a few yards away: Vlad. I had just made a move to urge her sl
owly away when she tilted her head to the side and watched him. Then, in a move that surprised me, Vlad walked over to us somberly, his head hung low and back hunched. He was sporting a bit of a limp before he fell to his stomach and rolled onto his side at our feet in an act of submission.
Madison looked to me, almost as though she were asking permission to tend to him. It made sense given what happened earlier, but I still wasn’t comfortable with it, so I kneeled next to him and ran a hand over his side.
“Good boy,” I coddled, moving my hand up over his shoulder and down the leg he seemed to be favoring a minute ago. He yanked it back when my fingers reached his knee, but he gave it back without any trouble. “It’s swollen,” I told Madison. “We should have my dad look at him.”
Madison fell to her knees at my side and pet him, her fingers gently tracing several scars on his body—both new and old. “You’re not so scary without that big, bad man around, are you?” There was a beat of silence as we showered the abused dog with the affection he craved. “What do we do after your dad looks at him?”
I sighed. While I would have liked nothing more than to take him home, there was still the issue of how Bones would react to him. Not to mention, he’d obviously been mistreated for years, and there was no telling if something minor would trigger his aggression or just how easily he could be rehabilitated. He was just too risky to have around considering we were due to have a baby in just a few short weeks.
“I don’t know, sweetheart. Why don’t we talk to my dad and see just how severe his injuries are and we’ll go from there,” I suggested. “We could probably find someone who will take him in and love him.”
After a few more minutes with Vlad, Madison and I heard the approach of heavy hooves before she stood. “I’ll be right back,” she told me before walking toward one of the smaller pens. Almost as if she could sense my unease, she turned back around and smiled. “I’ll stay on this side of the fence.”
I stayed with Vlad as Madison wandered through the lighter patches of grass and dirt toward the wooden fence. It wasn’t long before I heard a high squeal and saw the Appaloosa stallion gallop around the ring, throwing his head up and bucking as he did. Even with everything Madison told me about how Charles was savagely attacking him, the blood covering the front of his body shocked me.
