by Lexie Ray
The food smelled good as I stepped out of the woods, but I really didn’t have an appetite. A small commotion across the bonfire drew my attention, as well as the majority of people milling about with plates and bottles.
“I said, we’re leaving! Now!” A rough male voice drifted across the clearing to my ears. Even though I’d never met the man speaking before, I realized, as I moved toward the scuffle, just what the tone meant—and who was speaking so angrily. I knew there were probably more dirtbags in this place than Zoe Holland’s husband, but probably none of them who’d act out so publicly. Everyone was here—even more people had arrived at the party after dark. And apparently, this guy was eager to yank his family on home.
My fears were confirmed when I reached the picnic table Zoe had stationed herself earlier, away from everyone. She’d isolated herself, trying to stay out of the dubious spotlight of the attention of her neighbors, but a man loomed over her. She was so small compared to him. I hadn’t realized how petite she was when I was talking to her earlier, but she seemed to be shrinking in on herself right now. I sprang into action as soon as I saw that Toby had detached himself from the crowd of children he’d been romping with, watching his father threaten his mother.
“Toby is having such a good time,” Zoe was pleading softly. “He never gets a chance to play with kids his own age. Can’t we stay a little longer?”
Seeing her try to stand up to her husband was like seeing a completely different person from earlier. If I hadn’t met her, hadn’t looked directly at her and shaken her hand, I wouldn’t have been able to tell it was her. She was a different woman, one who was obviously terrified. Why wasn’t anyone helping her? Why were they all just staring, or trying not to stare?
“Hello, there,” I said, grabbing the guy by his shoulder and spinning him around. I stuck my hand out and shook his forcibly. “I don’t think I’ve met you, yet.”
“Forrest Holland,” he said suspiciously, narrowing his eyes. “I’ve never seen you before in my life, and I’ve lived her all my life. Where are you from?”
“That doesn’t matter,” I said easily. “What matters is that your wife and child are going to stay here at the party as long as they like. That’s their choice, not yours.”
“I don’t know who you are, asshole, but you don’t just insert yourself into family affairs. This is private.”
He tried to yank his hand out of mine, but I just tightened my grip. This son of a bitch wasn’t going anywhere.
“This isn’t one bit private,” I said, careful to keep a smile on my face, aware that Toby and Zoe and everyone else at this party were watching this exchange. Toby was really my only concern. I knew he’d probably already witnessed a lot of violence in his young life, but I didn’t want him to see it from me.
“Zoe, Toby, we’re leaving,” Forrest called.
“Wrong again.” I squeezed his hand even harder. “Zoe and Toby can choose when they go and where they go. Zoe recently accepted a position to work outside of this town, so you won’t have to worry about rules and control anymore.”
I knew it was the wrong thing to say and said it anyway, just to get to the guy. Control was the only thing he cared about. He didn’t love his son and wife. He loved the control he lorded over them.
“Zoe did no such thing,” Forrest scoffed at me. “She wouldn’t dare.”
“You’re just not getting many things right tonight, I’m afraid,” I said pleasantly. “Zoe did accept a job. It’s at the Corbin ranch. And she can go when she wants and where she wants.”
Even with me in his face, even with my hand about to break his, he turned his ugly face back toward his wife.
“He’d better be lying, bitch.”
“Watch your language, please,” I said, feeling something pop in his hand as I bore down on it. “There are children present.”
Zoe was still small—maybe she thought it was better for her to present a smaller target, but she lifted her face up defiantly.
“I did take the job. Toby and I are leaving you.”
“And you will be granting the divorce,” I added, my lips against his ear, crushing his hand further. “Immediately.”
Forrest cursed, and I knew I’d done real damage to those deceptively fragile bones beneath his skin, but I still hung on.
Zoe had risen from her perch on the edge of the picnic table bench, motioning for Toby.
“We’re ready to leave now,” she said. “But we’re not going with you, Forrest.”
“The hell you aren’t,” he hissed. “You’re still my wife, and he’ll always be my boy.”
“Not for long,” I said, keeping my voice light as I ground the broken bones together in Forrest’s hand, who was blistering the air in front of him with foul language. “The divorce Zoe’s been asking you for, remember? You’re going to give it to her first thing in the morning, right after you meet with your lawyer. But tonight, Zoe and Toby are going with me to my family’s ranch. They’re going to start their new lives now. Away from you.”
It cost him dearly, but Forrest finally wrenched his hand out of mine, cradling it against his chest. I noticed that Hadley had arrived back in the clearing, and I was glad. I’d hurt a man, even if I hadn’t exactly flown off the handle at him, and every adult at the party could tell. That was a good reason not to love me, right? At least I was able to give Hadley that.
“Goodbye, Forrest,” Zoe said proudly, walking past him, cradling Toby around his shoulders.
“This isn’t over,” he growled at her.
“It is though,” I said. “Goodnight, Mr. Holland. I can’t say that it was a pleasure to meet you, but I am quite pleased with the outcome.”
In the truck, I didn’t know who was more relieved to be leaving this town—Zoe, Toby, or me.
Chapter 10
I drove through the night, not sure how I felt about anything. There were just too many things to feel. I was happy I could help Zoe and Toby, who slumbered, collapsed against each other, in the seats next to me. I’d never really felt like a hero from the medals they sent to me because I refused to attend some hokey ceremony for crusty civilians to pin them on me. But this small act made something inside of me swell. I was grateful I was there, grateful my family had something to offer them, grateful Zoe had seen that opportunity and seized it.
But then there was Hadley. The whole point of me tracking her down to her hometown was to try and explain myself, to win her back, and I’d left more unsure of things than ever.
Well, technically, that wasn’t true. I’d left with the realization that whether or not Hadley actually loved me, she didn’t want to be in love with me. She said it wasn’t because of my disability, but I didn’t know what else it could be. It ate at me, whatever her secret reasons were. I wished she’d found the words to tell me the truth, but I figured maybe all I really needed to know was that it was never going to happen.
We pulled up to the house just at first light, the sun poking its head over the horizon, my hands resting on the steering wheel before I finally turned the ignition off. I was only just now realizing how tired I was, the fact that I hadn’t slept in over twenty-four hours now making itself apparent.
“This is beautiful,” Zoe said quietly, and I jumped a little. I hadn’t realized she was awake.
“It’s home,” I said. “Your home now, too.”
“You and Hadley …”
“Wasn’t meant to be,” I said, trying a smile on and letting it go just as quickly, finding that it hurt. “Nothing you did. It was all me.”
“I will never be able to repay you for what you’re doing for Toby and me,” Zoe said. “Truly. Taking us away from that motherfucker is the greatest kindness I’ve ever experienced.”
“There’s no need to repay me for anything,” I said. “Just wait until you see the mess inside. You won’t be thanking me. You’ll be cursing us. I live with my brothers. We’re only good at tending the ranch, not ourselves.”
Zoe laughed gently,
but the truth of that statement resonated with me. I wasn’t good at taking care of myself until Hadley taught me how. It hadn’t even been a matter of reminding me. I’d never been good at it. I was used to being coddled, being the Corbin baby and all, and the decisions I made for myself weren’t always the best, certainly not after being so terribly injured in Afghanistan.
I’d been injured again, though the wounds weren’t as visible as the one that required an entirely manmade leg. Was there such a thing as a replacement for my broken heart? I didn’t know how long I could take the pain inside of my chest—disappointment and anger and deep sadness all wrapped into a pervasive hurt.
The person I’d been before Hadley Parsons inserted herself into my life used to have a way to deal with this bullshit: a handful of pills and liquor until I forgot why I was drinking or passed out cold. But that wasn’t what I wanted to do. Right now, I just wanted to go upstairs, take the prosthesis off, and sleep for about a week. I was exhausted.
“So you and Toby can rest a while and then we can talk about getting you into town and getting some supplies.”
“We don’t need much,” Zoe said. “I should’ve gone back home to get a few clothes and toys for Toby. I was just … well, scared, I guess.”
“Don’t worry. You don’t have to be scared anymore. We’ll get everything taken care of.”
I fully expected my brothers to all be working out at the ranch by now—they rose before the sun, after all, but no one had left the house yet when I entered, Zoe at my side, Toby in my arms, still sleeping.
“What’s going on, brother?” Tucker asked, pausing in the middle of pulling on his boots in the foyer, his eyes darting from me to Toby to Zoe and back again.
“Leave home chasing one woman, come home with another,” Avery said, poking his head out of the kitchen, taking quick stock of the situation. “Nice.”
I scowled at him. “Don’t be an idiot. This is Zoe Holland and her son, Toby. They’re going to be staying with us from now on. Zoe’s going to be our housekeeper.”
Emmett passed us by in the foyer, tipping his hat to Zoe and walking out the door. He’d trailed mud from wherever his point of origin was—likely the kitchen, grabbing some coffee and a bite to eat before saddling up for a day’s work.
“I think I’m going to have my work cut out for me,” Zoe murmured, her eyes wide.
“I tried to warn you,” I joked weakly, but my strength was flagging. I really needed sleep. “Come on. I’ll show you where you and Toby will be staying for now, at least.”
“You talked to the boss about this?” Tucker teased, as I led Zoe down the hallway.
“I’m sure the boss will be amenable,” I said over my shoulder.
“The boss?” she repeated, sounding nervous.
“Just a joke,” I assured her. “Our oldest brother. Chance. He’s kind of in charge of finances and everything. He knows this is a position we need because all of us need to be out there on the ranch. Don’t worry. You’re a shoo-in.”
I pushed open the door to the master bedroom, the one Hadley had compelled me to give back up to Chance.
“Are you in here, Chance?” I called. “It’s Hunter.”
“I know it’s you, Hunter. I heard the truck from a half-mile up the road. I overslept, like an idiot.”
He stepped out of the bathroom, drying himself off with a towel, evidently fresh from the shower. He was my brother, so I didn’t think anything of it, knowing he’d seen me in even more compromising situations. But Chance did a comical cover-up of all of his goods when he realized I wasn’t alone, gaping at Zoe, who stood beside me, looking at him appraisingly.
“Christ, Hunter, you could’ve warned me we had guests,” he yelped, ducking back into the bedroom. “Ma’am, I apologize for my heathen of a brother.”
“No need to apologize,” she said, cool as a cucumber. “Yours isn’t the first cock I’ve ever laid eyes on.”
I laughed helplessly, as I heard a choking sound from the bathroom. Rare was the occasion when Chance was at a loss for words, and Zoe had just proved she could hold her own in a house full of dirty men.
Chance re-emerged red in the face and with a pair of jeans on. “I didn’t get a chance to make your acquaintance,” he said solemnly to Zoe, as if he could will an exchange to become comfortable even after he’d showed a strange woman his everything.
“Zoe Holland,” she said. “And my son, Toby. I’m your new housekeeper.”
His lips pursed in question, Chance looked at me.
“I met Zoe at a party in Hadley’s hometown. She needed the work, and we needed the help. I made the decision for us, and I know she’ll be a good fit.”
I knew no such thing, but I wasn’t going to start doubting Zoe now, not after everything she’d been through.
She surprised me by speaking up. “I’ve been cleaning houses all my life,” she said. “I have a lot of experience, even though this’ll be the first time I’ll be paid to do it. You’ll get what you pay for, though. I won’t piss in your sink.”
Both Chance and I blinked at her, and she shrugged.
“That’s why you always need to be nice to the help,” she offered. “I’m a fucking good cook, too.”
I had to hide a smile in Toby’s hair at the shocked expression on Chance’s face. I hadn’t known that Zoe was the type of woman who used curses as conversational adjectives, but that surprise was well worth the vexation that it would cause Chase, who thought women should mind their manners more than men. What an education he was about to have.
“Well, I’m glad you’re here,” he said diplomatically, after a humorous stretch of silence.
“I’m here to evict you from this room, at least until we can get something a little more permanent set up for Zoe and Toby,” I said pointedly, hoping to appeal to Chance’s sense of chivalry and not incite his tendency to be territorial.
“That makes sense,” he said. “Let me grab my shirt and boots and I’ll be out of your way.”
“Thank you, really,” Zoe said, turning to me and taking Toby. She seemed too small to be able to heft that growing boy’s weight, but she didn’t even grunt. I had a feeling there was a lot more to Zoe than met the eye.
“Just get some rest,” I said. “You’re home now.”
Chance and I left the Hollands—what remained of their little family—to get comfortable.
“I need some shuteye, too,” I remarked in the hallway, hoping Chance wouldn’t want a full dissertation on the situation. “I haven’t slept in God knows when.”
“Just a second,” he said, and my shoulders slumped. “How, exactly, did you meet this Zoe, and why is she living with us?”
“Think about it,” I reasoned, continuing to move in the direction of the staircase, hoping to make my eventual escape. “It’ll be a lot more convenient for all parties involved to have a housekeeper and part-time cook who lives on the premises. We can have access to her in case of emergencies, and she can take advantage of living here, rent free.”
“Rent free?” Chance narrowed his eyes. “I don’t know if that’s sustainable.”
“None of us has to pull house chore duty again,” I said, trying to tantalize him. “We’ll all be free to man the ranch, and that’ll mean higher productivity.”
“I just don’t know what we can pay her,” he said.
“She understands that. I already told her. I’m sure you can look in the budget and scrape something together.”
“And that’s two extra mouths to feed.”
“Is this about the kid?” I sighed. “I get that you don’t like them, but try to appreciate the situation. He’s a sweet boy; she’s in need of a place to live; and we can help them out while they help us out.”
“I don’t suppose I have much say in the matter, do I?” Chance said, a corner of his mouth quirking up wryly. “It’s good to have you back, Hunter.”
“Nap time,” I informed him, making a break up the stairs. “I just need a couple of hours
, and then I’ll be out there with you all. Zoe, too. She’s exhausted.”
“Hunter, wait.”
I only barely suppressed a groan, my hand gripping the banister. “What is it?”
“Hadley?”
My heart dropped. “Didn’t want to come back.”
“I’m sorry. Really. We all got pretty used to having her around, too.”
“Just wasn’t meant to be,” I lied, feeling foolish, taking the rest of the stairs up and sinking into the relative sanctuary of my room.
Memories of Hadley were imprinted all over the place, making it easy to forget about the betrayal Eileen had wrought in this very room. I didn’t know if that was a good thing or a bad thing, being reminded of Hadley at every turn—the drying flowers she’d collected on our walks through the ranch, the little bits of ephemera she’d left in her haste to escape me. But it was all I had, and until I could get Zoe to scour this place and toss everything out with the garbage, I’d have to live with it.
I sat heavily on the bed, unstrapping my prosthesis, rubbing at my thigh wearily. I liked the advantages that the thing gave me, but damn, it felt good coming off when I was on my feet for too long. I laid back, my sore muscles twitching, trying to ignore the ache at everything that had gone wrong.
Everything should’ve been fine and dandy. But it wasn’t. I should’ve felt some sense of satisfaction that I’d helped Zoe and Toby settle into their new life, that all my brothers accepted it, that I’d stopped being the fuck-up of the family and started contributing valuably to our existence here on the ranch.
But I didn’t feel anything close to that, just an aching despair that I’d failed at what I’d set out to do. I hadn’t been able to win Hadley back but had just hurt her even worse in the process. She was normally so driven, so sure of herself, and she hadn’t seemed like that at all back in her hometown. I was worried about her so much that I picked up my phone, ready to call her, to check on her, to make sure she was okay, but I knew I wouldn’t be able to stomach the sting of rejection all over again. There wouldn’t be a possibility of her taking my call.
