by Sadie Hart
“Yeah. Just talked to Dad. It’s okay. I’ll see you soon.”
“You leaving?”
But he knew, without her even having to answer.
“Did he hurt you?”
“No.”
“You love him?”
Her heart gave another pain-filled squeeze, her lungs finding the air suddenly too much to breathe. Would everyone stop asking her that? Like it made everything easier? It just made it so damn much harder. “Dad will fill you in.”
Sawyer pulled away and headed for the door. Mace would be okay with it if she borrowed one of his trucks, and the dilapidated Ford hardly got used anymore. She could withdraw some money, get a new car, and put some states between them.
Ollie or Lennox would let her stay with one or the other of them until she had time to get an apartment again. In a few days she’d be back on the job and she’d be able to move on.
No one stopped her as she slid into the driver’s seat and put the car in drive. No man or lion came running down the street as she backed up to turn it down the drive. Kinsey and Grace rounded the corner of the house, chatting happily and Sawyer waved goodbye. Kinsey waved back, completely oblivious of the fact that it was the last goodbye she’d get from Sawyer.
She angled the truck out of the ranch, blared up some old country station, and sang her broken heart away between tears and pitiful screams on her way into town. The truck shuddered and bounced over the dirt road, turkey vultures circling overhead back the way she’d came, no doubt ready to drop down and pluck up the pieces of her heart scattered along the road.
Leaving Rift had hurt more than she’d ever thought possible. The movies had it wrong. At every pothole she wanted to turn the car back. She kept looking in the rear view mirror, hoping to see him running after her. He’d catch up to her somewhere, open the door, and beg her to come back.
But that would only make it worse.
And no matter what she wanted, this was what would keep them safe.
Chapter Fourteen
“I’m sorry, man. I couldn’t stop her. It had to be her choice.”
Mace leaned against the back pasture fence next to him as Rift stared out into the open field. She was gone. Sawyer had left him naked on a damned rock on her family’s ranch and bolted.
He supposed it shouldn’t surprise him, but after last night he’d thought—
Fuck.
He should have seen last night for what it was. The sad look of longing in her eyes when she’d kissed him back, the way she’d clung to him, holding him tight. She’d known it was going to end. She’d known she was leaving today.
Rift grimaced, pressing his forehead into his hands. He should have seen it coming. Should have known.
The wind tossed the gold tips of the long prairie grass in waves, a vulture circling overhead in the distance. Carrion, most likely.
“Guess I should pack up too. Past time, really.” Rift gave his head a small shake, as if he could knock loose the memories. “Only stuck around this long because Kinsey’s happy, found a friend in Grace.”
God. How was he supposed to tell Kins? Sawyer hadn’t even stuck around to give Kinsey a proper goodbye.
“I am sorry, man. For what it’s worth...”
“Nah,” Rift said and shoved away from the fence. “I don’t want to hear any last words you got from her. They should have come from her. I just wish like hell she’d said something to Kinsey.”
He broke off with a shrug. What was he supposed to say? He’d watched her shift and rip into an adult male lion, she’d smuggled Kinsey out of death’s way to track down a man she didn’t know. Hell, she could be the strongest woman on the planet when she put her mind to it. What was the moment she’d lost her head and let her heart go to fear? He wished he knew.
They walked in silence back towards the house. The two of them had already talked more about feelings than either of them cared to. Kinsey and Grace were playing on the swings beside the house, laughing. He hated to take her away from here. To take her away from the first time he’d ever really seen her happy.
Even Rona was content, walking around the house purring over every little butt scratch she could con from people. As much as this wasn’t quite the life he wanted, he did want to see Kinsey happy. With friends, in a normal, settled environment. He had to find a way to give her that.
Mace paused next to him. “You know, shit. I probably shouldn’t do this. My offer still stands. Cutter and I got turf two hours north of here. Just past this territory’s outer lines.”
Rift turned to look at him.
“Anya would let Grace come stay. Three males, I say we stand a good chance against Cane Creek if they come calling.”
“I doubt your sister would appreciate it.”
Mace gave him an odd look, then he shrugged. “Not really her I’m worried about.”
Rift eyed the girls as they played. Grace leaned in to tell Kinsey something and they both started to laugh again. He could give her a home. Make it safe. And Mace was right, three males could hold fairly well against four.
“I don’t really want to join a pride the size of Boulder.”
“Hell, why do you think I’m leaving, man? I need breathing room. But hey, a two-man deal won’t hold if push comes to shove from a band of rogues, or another pride trying to muscle in. That’s why we parked ourselves just north of Boulder Pride. Dad dissuades squatters and, well, it means Cut and I have unofficial backup.”
He flashed Rift a grin. “And you’re not bad for a rogue.”
Rift considered that. He didn’t want a pride. Not the kind that Gaston and most of his sons had here. He just wanted him, Kinsey, Rona and—hell, Sawyer, even if she wouldn’t have him.
Pride housing here meant multiple families under one roof. He cut Mace a look. “I don’t share space.”
“Cutter and I each built our own house. You can bunk with me only as long as it takes you to put yours up. After that I’m kicking the two of you out.”
Rift winced. He didn’t have the kind of money to build a house, and life as a rogue hadn’t really allowed him hold down a job long enough for credit. “Thanks, but, uh, I can’t.”
Mace shrugged. “Just thought I’d give you another option. For the record we’re taking, the wood from trees on our own land. The rest of the materials aren’t hard to come by. How do you think the old man made this empire? Reyes & Sons Construction. Cut and I will help with the labor. You just have to put your time and sweat in, too.”
Rift took one last look at Kinsey laughing with Grace and let his pride go. She’d be safe. She’d have a friend until she could make more at school. She’d almost have a family, and not just him. She’d have a pride to surround her. This way he could give her a nice stable home that wasn’t a car constantly on the move, followed by seedy motel rooms and no privacy whatsoever.
Most of all, there was no way in hell Cane Creek would follow her.
And if they did, Rift could keep her safe.
“I’m in.” He turned to meet Mace’s gaze, giving the other male a good, hard look. Mace was a year or two younger than him and, if he remembered right, Cutter a year younger than Mace, but the man’s hair was already darkened to a deep black. He had enough bulk on him that when he filled out in the next few years he’d be as big as his father, and Gaston Reyes was no slouch. If Rift had to take partners, they weren’t a bad set to team with.
Besides, there was always the smallest of chances that Sawyer would seek out her brother someday. And damn it, when she did, he’d do his best to make sure she stayed this time.
“Thank you,” he added.
“Any time, bro.” Mace titled his head toward Kinsey. “Now you got good and bad news to tell her. Good luck with that.”
With a sigh, he headed for the girls, grateful for the extra luck.
***
Kinsey kicked off, spinning the tire swing around, and Rift reached out to catch the rope, pulling her back to a stop. “Hey Grace, could you give
us a minute?”
“We’re leaving, aren’t we?” Kinsey scuffed her shoe in the dirt, refusing to look up at him.
He was almost relieved not to have to tell her that. “No, actually, we’re gonna stay with Mace. Won’t be in Boulder, but we’ll be close.”
Kinsey looked up at him. Her brow furrowed. “Then what’s up?”
Hell. He didn’t want to be the one to tell her this. Rift turned away, his jaw tight. Sawyer would be back to see her family, she might see Kinsey again. It was only temporary.
“Sawyer won’t be moving with us.”
“So she’ll be staying here?” Kinsey arched an eyebrow and Rift shook his head.
“I don’t know, Kins. She left.” Rift watched as Kinsey’s face fell, saw the flash of surprise and hurt evident in the twist of her lips, the way her gaze suddenly darted away, the tension in her shoulders.
“Why’d you let her go?”
He cringed a little. Let her go? Like he had any control over Sawyer. To make this choice for Kinsey. He could no more have demanded Sawyer stay than he could go find her and drag her back. It just didn’t work like that, no matter how much he wished it did. No matter how much Kinsey wished it did. “I didn’t know she was going.”
“You could go after her.”
“She’s a big girl, Kins. She gets to make her own choices.”
Kinsey scowled at him over the swing. “Even if they’re stupid ones?”
That drew a smile to his lips. God, he loved his kid. “Yeah, even if they’re stupid ones.”
“Well, that’s shitty.”
“Sucks eggs, doesn’t it?” Finally, he managed to draw a burst of laughter out of her. It died as fast as it came, but it was a start.
“So when are you going to leave me?”
Rift winced. It was a fair question. Jenna had ditched her the moment she’d let Sawyer take her from Cane Creek. Something Jenna should have done herself. As her mother, she should have had Kinsey’s back.
And now Sawyer had left.
And hell, before them both, before he’d even known he’d had a kid, he’d left her too.
Rift gave the swing a gentle push.
“Tick, tock,” Kinsey teased.
“Kid, I’m not going anywhere.”
She snorted. “Yeah and I’m supposed to believe that?”
He gave the swing a harder push, watching the tire spin with her on it. “You’re kind of stuck with me. Because, Kins?”
“Yeah?”
“If I wanted to leave you, I sure as hell wouldn’t be partnering up and joining a pride. Solo, I can do the rogue thing just fine. With you, I think we need more than a car and a string of motel rooms. Things like a stable school system—”
“I wouldn’t mind not going to school.”
Rift snorted. “I’m sure you wouldn’t. You’re still going.”
“Is Rona coming?”
“You bet your ass she is.” He’d taken that cat in a car cross-country. He was taking her with them to Mace’s, and the lion could stuff it if he disagreed.
“Do you think Sawyer will come back?” There were tears in her eyes when she asked it, and Rift did the only thing he could think of to do, he leaned down and kissed her forehead.
“I love you. And I think so.”
There was a ray of hope in her eyes when she smiled, swiping at her eyes. “I hope so.”
“Me too.” Rift winked. “And now I’m going to head out with Mace and check out this turf. Apparently we get to build a house.”
“I want a huge closet.”
“Done.”
It was the least he could do for her.
***
Rift found Mason in his father’s study. Gaston Reyes was leaned over his desk, his chin braced in his hands as he looked up at his son. They both glanced at Rift as he hesitated in the doorframe. Rift didn’t miss the quick once-over Gaston gave him.
“He’s not a bad choice for a third.” Gaston cut Rift a look and then gestured toward the chair in front of his desk. “Have a seat, boy.”
Shit. He hadn’t thought he’d get lectured for simply teaming with Mace and Cutter. He hadn’t met Cutter Reyes yet, but he hadn’t really thought it would be an issue.
“We wanted to head out, show Rift the around land.”
Gaston’s eyes narrowed for a second, then he glanced at the clock. “You be long?”
“Home before dinner.”
“Good. Rift and I have something to discuss.”
“If it’s about—”
Gaston shook his head. “It’s not what you think. Get on, then.”
Rift followed Mace out the door, feeling more than a little dumbfounded. “Shit. Why do I feel like I’m sixteen again every time he looks at me?”
“Cause Dad could more than easily whup your ass. His mane might be graying, but he hasn’t lost a step. Come on.”
Mace drove, considering Rift was still didn’t have a car, something he’d have to figure out soon enough. They could go back for his bike. With Mace and Cutter at his back, he could go back for all his stuff. But a bike wouldn’t be enough for Kinsey and him.
He’d need a car if he had to lug Kinsey back and forth to school, and he wasn’t going to mooch off Mace. That, and Kinsey was thirteen. In three years she’d be able to drive.
Scary. But true.
The thought of her behind the wheel made him sick to his stomach.
This was the kind of shit he never thought he’d have to deal with.
“I’m going to need a job,” Rift said into the quiet confines of Mace’s SUV. “Know any places up by Briar that are hiring?”
“Dad’s always looking to hire. If you can swing a hammer you’ll do fine. Heck, by the time you’re done with your house you’ll be a pro.”
Reyes & Sons Construction. He could do that. And the thought of a job and regular money again was another source of relief. He hadn’t worked a steady job in... Rift couldn’t even remember. Gas stations, fast food restaurants, car washes...he’d done it all over the years, and whatever extra he could get under the table just to stay off Cane Creek’s radar.
It almost felt unreal to even think of going legit.
Sell his run down trailer and the little bit of land it sat on.
He wouldn’t miss it. Not the empty walls that had housed just him and Rona.
He was already used to having Kinsey and Sawyer around. It wouldn’t be home without either one of them. Though, damn her for leaving, he and Kinsey could make do. They’d figure it out.
It was barely noon when they pulled up the sloping drive that split between two nice-sized houses. Not quite the Reyes mansion, but these weren’t exactly small. Rift stared at the houses spread in front of him, the rolling landscapes behind them. He was a part of this now, and it felt good. Really good, to his bones.
Mace pulled the car to a stop in front of the pale blue two-story. “This one’s mine. The other belongs to Cutter. I’ll take you on a tour of mine, and then we’ll see if he’s home. Might not be. He’s wooing some cougar chick in town.”
“Shifter or just older?”
Mace cracked a grin. “A little of both. Mainly a shifter.”
Rift followed the other lion up the curved sidewalk to his front steps. Looking out over the expanse of open land, Rift couldn’t help but feel the roll of longing that swept through him. This could be a home.
Now all he needed to do was convince Sawyer to come back.
***
The early evening light made the houses of Boulder Pride look dusky.
The sun had dropped low in the sky, dark twists of angry blue starting to settle in across the horizon, forecasting a stormy night. Probably not the best omen for a meeting with Sawyer’s dad. Rift leaned back in the chair as Mace turned the SUV up the road and toward the house.
A pair of black cars were parked out front and Rift didn’t miss the Shifter Town Enforcement ensign on the signs. “Shit,” he breathed.
What would STE be do
ing at Boulder Pride?
Rift couldn’t imagine Cane Creek going to the Hounds, but then again, Dougal might risk it.
“Relax man, we’re just going to go on up and see what they want.” Mace put the car in park and looked at him. “It won’t be as bad as you’re thinking.”
“Says the pride lion not on the run.”
“It’ll be fine.”
But Rift couldn’t ignore the wild pound of his heart in his chest. What if they were here for Kinsey? What if—
How the hell had they found them?
Then another thought stopped him cold. What if it was Sawyer? Had something happened to her? Rift picked up speed, ignoring the wild thud of his heart in his chest. He had to know. Barging into the house, Rift followed the sound of voices to Gaston’s study. Sawyer’s father still sat at his desk. Three other people crowded the room and Rift tensed. Dog. There wasn’t a single one of them that didn’t stink of dog. Hounds.
He swallowed.
Since he’d been a rogue for most of his life, he wasn’t in the habit of sticking around when Shifter Town Enforcement showed up.
“Rift,” Gaston said. “Just the man we hoping to see. Have a seat.”
Like hell he would. He stood frozen in the doorway, Mace just behind him. Trapped. He could shove his way out that door, but without Kinsey, he couldn’t just run. He glanced at the three Hounds, saw all of them watching him.
Two sat on the other side of Gaston’s desk, looking perfectly comfortable. The last, a tall, lanky man, stood. There was an air of caution about him, or readiness, and Rift watched as he shifted his weight, his hand resting over his holster. There was no doubt in Rift’s mind that the bullets in that gun would be loaded with silver.
It took everything inside Rift to turn and focus his attention on Gaston, not paying the Hounds any mind. “Did something happen to Sawyer?”
Gaston’s brow furrowed. “Sawyer? No. Why?”
So they were here for him. Cold leached into Rift’s gut and he started to take a step backwards when the Hound standing took a step forward. “Rift Callahan. I’m Brandt Lawrence. And this is Sylvia Black and Chris Wykoff, they’re part of the Shifter Town Enforcement’s Retrieval Program.”
