by Donn, KL
“Because of the spots?” I’ve never been near a horse, but her black coat with white spots are a dead giveaway.
“Mostly, but her bloodline as well. Paints have strict genetic requirements and distinctive characteristics. Summer is certified in every equestrian organization in the country.” He beams with pride.
“How come?” I wonder as she sticks her white nose out of her stall. The curiosity in her eyes speaks volumes to her intelligence.
“Her parents were prized barrel racers until they retired. She would have followed suit, but I bought them all.” He points to two other horses that are eerily similar to the colors of Summer.
“They’re beautiful.” I turn to the older horses, petting their noses.
“Summer is yours.” His words halt my movements.
“What?”
Cross grins at me. “Summer will be your horse now. She’s only three, well-trained, and by far, the most docile creature on the ranch if not in the entire state.”
I’m speechless. “You can’t just give me a horse, Cross.”
“Why not?”
“Because…” I’m not sure I have an actual answer here, but I’m sure there is one.
Walking over to me, he grips my cheeks in his hands and brings my chin up to look at him. “She’s mine; therefore, I can do with her as I please. And it pleases me to give her to you. You’re going to need your own horse here, and since I trained her myself from a few months after birth, I know that she’s perfect for you.”
I still don’t know what to say.
“Say thank you, Cross.” He smirks.
“Thank you, Cross,” I repeat because what else can I do?
“You’re welcome, sparrow.” He leans down to kiss me, and it quickly evolves into my heart rate increasing and my body begging for something I don’t completely understand but wish for with him. Gripping the front of his shirt, I try to pull Cross closer to me. I want him touching every inch of my body. I need all the promises I can feel in the single action.
He pulls back way too soon, though, and I whine in the back of my throat. “In a bit, sparrow.” His vow is soft yet assuring. I know he’ll be the kind of man who can deliver on all the sensuality I feel in our tender kisses.
“Let’s get these chores done and then we can go into town and meet Zack at the diner.” His boyish grin is filled with manly intent.
“Zack?” I don’t recognize the name.
“He’s my younger brother’s best friend. An attorney who will be able to help get you disentangled from Curtis for good.” A bucket of cold water is dumped on my head at the mention of my uncle’s name. “Hey now, none of that.” The strength in his hand as he lifts my head says so much about him. He’s gentle yet powerful. Fierce and protective. Everything I’m not. “I didn’t say that to make you upset, Bella. I want you aware of everything that’s going to happen. This is your life; I won’t keep you in the dark.”
“I appreciate that. It’s just when I hear his name, I can’t help myself. I’m terrified of going back, Cross.” Wrapping both of his arms around my neck and back, he draws me into his embrace and imparts every ounce of willpower he can into my scarred psyche.
“You won’t.” I want to believe him, I really do. But the past has shown that I may not be able to and not because of anything he’s done. Rather because karma likes to shit on me.
I don’t say anything else about it as Cross shows me how to care for Summer, where her feed is, and anything else I could possibly need to know. After a while, his crew starts to awaken and begin their own routines for the day before Nick, Cross’ best friend, directs everyone to finish up the barn ahead of the storm we can see rolling in.
“Sherri’s at the house. I’m going to help the guys. Will you be alright?” I nod, and Cross smiles. Summer bumps my shoulder with her nose after a minute of no brushing.
“Pushy girl, aren’t you?” I laugh when she rolls her eyes. I don’t know much about horses, but I do know attitude and as sweet as she is, she has it in spades.
“Cami would have loved you,” I say as I swipe the brush along her flank, her tail twitching as I move behind her and to the other side. “When we were little, she begged our parents for a pony for years. They always laughed her off. One year, they finally got her a little tabby cat.” I smile, remembering the way Cami treated the feline like a queen.
“That cat had all of your sass and more. She was the ruler in our house until she got sick.” It was one of the saddest days of my childhood. The day Kitty died was when I started protecting Cami however I could. She was heartbroken and cried in bed for days. We were seven and eight, I think. Barely had Kitty for two years.
“Isabella!” I hear Sherri’s voice coming from the house, and Summer huffs her displeasure.
“Time for me to go in, I guess. I’ll come back to check on you tonight, Miss Summer.” After leading her into her stall, I make sure it’s closed properly before putting everything I was using away.
Stepping out of the barn, I see an unfamiliar vehicle idling at the entrance to the ranch, sitting under the iron arch with a large M in the middle. I wait, half hidden by the barn door, to see what their next move is.
It isn’t until I hear more trucks coming in from behind the barn and notice raindrops intermittently falling that the stranger backs up and leaves. Making me wonder if they were simply in the wrong place and just looking up directions or if Curtis has gotten a new vehicle and was here to collect me.
Either way, I know my time here is limited, and he’s going to come for me.
Chapter Seven
Cross
Bella has been silent since I caught up to her leaving the barn and heading to the house an hour ago. Zack is on his way into town, and she’s barely said two words to me since she climbed in the passenger side of my truck.
“What are you thinking?” I ask her as we roll into the parking lot in front of the diner. She’s tense, and I know she’s about to lie to me.
“Nothing,” she says without meeting my stare. “Summer is sweet.” Her awkward attempt at changing the conversation isn’t lost on me.
“I see,” I mumble as I climb out of the truck and go to open her door. She jumps down, ignoring the hand I hold out for her and heads into the restaurant filled with patrons in the late afternoon storm.
“Cross!” I hear my name called as Isabella enters the building, and I spin around to see Zack Pine waving me down from the courthouse. He wasn’t supposed to be here for another hour.
“How the hell did you get here so quickly?” I shout, not wanting to be too far away from my girl.
He jogs across the street, a briefcase in one hand and his jacket and a folder in the other. “I got connections.” I raise a brow in question. “I took an earlier flight, and Sheriff Wade picked me up. Look, man, things are a lot more complicated than your damn brother led me to believe. Curtis Lindsay has a court order that says she’s in his care until twenty-one.”
“I know that,” I tell him as we begin walking into the diner.
He pauses. “Why the hell didn’t someone tell me that?”
“I didn’t know you were going right to the courthouse when you got here, or I would have.” Half the town is inside as we enter, and all of them are staring at Zack and his fancy suit. I don’t see Isabella anywhere, though. “Sammy, where’s Bella?” I call to the waitress behind the counter who has worked here for nearly as long as I’ve been alive.
“Cute girl, red and brown hair?” I nod. “Bathroom. Take that booth there, and I’ll be with you in a minute.” She points over to the only available table in the place, near where Bella went.
“So, what’s the deal then, Zack? Can you get her out of it?” I have no interest in talking about anything else.
“Look, with time, maybe I could. I get the feeling that it’s against us, however?” I nod. “The biggest problem is that not only did she assault someone twice, she nearly killed herself, ran away three times, and…”
“What?” I bark. I don’t have the patience for bullshitting.
“Curtis has filed a complaint.”
“What the hell does that mean?”
“It means, I have to go back,” Isabella says from around the corner as she stares at us. Tears the size of plums collect in her eyes.
“No you fucking don’t.” I won’t let her.
“She does,” Zack says regretfully, and I nearly kill him. “Legally, you can be arrested for kidnapping, Cross.”
“Are you fucking kidding me? That son of a bitch killed her sister, burned down my barn, and wants to do god only knows what to her. She isn’t fucking going back!” At this point, I can feel everyone’s stares as I come unglued.
“Easy, man, take a breath.” Zack runs a hand down his face as I grab Isabella’s hand and pull her to my side. “Why are you more difficult than Crux,” he complains. “Look, sit down.” He waits until we do. “When I was at the courthouse, I overheard someone I think works for him. Happened to get it on recording, and I think I might be able to get around this.”
“But you need time,” I hiss. Frustrated beyond belief. I can’t let her return to that sick bastard. I promised her I wouldn’t.
“Isabella!” I tense when I hear her name bellowed from the entrance. I don’t need to turn around to recognize who it is. Her violently shaking body does it for me, and my grip on her hand tightens.
“Cross.” Zack’s voice holds a warning as I stand.
“She’s not leaving,” I tell her uncle who smirks and walks out, leaving his henchman Sully behind.
“Time to leave, Isa.” Sully’s grin is as sadistic as the tone of her name coming from his mouth.
She stands, head down, and begins to walk forward. I stop her. “Where the fuck do you think you’re going?” My words are angrier than I intend them to be, and she gazes up at me with so much regret in her green eyes.
“You heard Zack. I have to go. But you’ll come for me?” Her tone isn’t as hopeful as her words.
The diner is quiet as Zack pries my hand from her arm, and she walks out. Before I can go after her, he’s standing in front of me as two other customers grab my arms to hold me back. “Let her go, man. This won’t end well if you’re locked up.”
“How the fuck do I stop this?” I growl when I see Curtis grip her shoulder so roughly, she flinches.
“You gotta let me work the system,” he replies.
“No, Zack. Right now, how the fuck do I stop this right now. She leaves with him, and she’s as good as fucking dead.”
As Sully is about to force her into the back of their truck, Crux’s words come back to me. “I could marry her.”
“What?” Zack’s shocked face would have been comical in any other situation.
“I can marry her, then I’ll be her next of kin. She will be mine.” Pushing everyone off of me, I head out to where Bella is trying to resist being forced into the truck.
“Now wait a minute!” Zack hollers, and I can see the sheriff sauntering from the courthouse, likely to arrest me.
Pushing Sully off Isabella, I grab her in a fireman’s hold and run in the direction of where I can get this ball rolling.
“Cross, what’s going on?” Her winded question is full of confusion.
“Mr. Malcolm, don’t make me arrest you,” Sheriff Wade warns as I run right past him. Pushing open the courthouse doors, I place Isabella on her feet and grip her tear-stained cheeks in mine as Zack bursts through behind us, followed by the sheriff, who promptly locks both doors so no one else can enter.
“Cross?” She’s so worried, but my brother was right.
“Marry me,” I demand.
“What?”
“If you marry me, you’re mine. No one can take you away ever again,” I explain.
“You can’t possibly want that.” She’s so full of hope it kills me.
“Tell her, Zack,” I command the man.
“He’s right. If you were married, he’d be your next of kin, court order or not.”
“I’ll get the judge.” Colter walks off.
“But why would you want to do that?” Still so much doubt.
“Isabella,” I sigh, bringing her lips up to meet mine. “You were always going to be mine; it’s just happening sooner than I can make you love me.”
* * *
Isabella
“I don’t know what to say.” How can he possibly be serious? Marriage? So soon?
“Say yes, sparrow. Be mine.” There is no doubt in his voice, his deep blue eyes, none. I see nothing but absolute certainty.
“Yes.” The smile, his smile, I don’t think I’ve ever seen something so radiant in my entire life. Pure happiness is reflected in his features, and I know I’ve made the right choice. Even if it was my only positive option.
“Let’s get this show on the road then,” Zack says as he points to where the sheriff and a judge are standing in a doorway watching us.
“You’re sure about this?” the judge asks me.
“Yes.” And I am.
“No files are officially charged yet, right?” He looks to Sheriff Wade.
“Not yet, Your Honor. I wasn’t in the office when Mr. Lindsay made the complaint. We were on the street.”
“What charges?” I ask, and each man looks at me.
“Curtis tried to charge Cross with kidnapping,” Zack shrugs as he explains.
“Are you going to arrest him?” My heart skips a beat in my chest.
The sheriff shakes his head. “Nothing’s official. As far as I’m concerned, it’s just another normal day.” He glares when pounding on the courthouse doors becomes too loud to ignore.
“Come on in, then, we’ll make this quick.” The judge guides us into his chambers and has Zack and another woman present as witnesses. He skips past the sanctity of marriage and goes straight for our vows.
All too quickly, we’re saying I do, and Cross has captured my lips in a searing kiss I feel to my toes. “Mrs. Malcolm,” he whispers against my lips, and this time, my heart skips a beat for a whole new reason.
Absolute pleasure.
This is my destiny, and now that I have hold of it, I can’t imagine anything else being better.
“If you’ll both sign here?” The judge points to some papers and hands us a pen. The ink is barely dry when the sheriff comes back in, Curtis and Sully hot on his heels.
“Arrest him!” Curtis yells, pointing to Cross, and I grasp his hand in both of mine.
“For what?” The sheriff looks bored now.
“Kidnapping my niece. She’s my ward, and I never permitted her to leave.” The cocky grin on his face isn’t scaring me this time. Not as much, anyway.
“Actually,” Zack speaks up and holds the documents we just signed in the air like a flag as he waves them. “She’s here of her own free will. Plus, you can’t accuse her husband of kidnapping her.”
“Husband?” Curtis chokes on the word. “I didn’t give her permission.”
“She’s eighteen, Mr. Lindsay, she doesn’t need it. Your custody of her is only granted until she’s twenty-one or married. Now, she’s married. I’d expect that lack of burden would please you,” the judge says, practically daring the man to argue with him.
“This isn’t right.” Curtis sounds confused. Sully looks ready to kill.
“Sheriff?” I stare at the man, unsure of what I’m about to do. “My sister…” I pause when a deadly light enters my uncle’s eyes.
“What about her?” Wade asks.
“She, uhm…” I pause to take a deep breath as Cross squeezes my hand in support. “She was murdered in that cellar by my uncle and his associate. They buried her out in the hills. I’d like her back.”
The judge appears shocked at my accusation, but I can’t leave Cami there. Not anymore. Especially now that I can get away from Curtis. “Arrest them,” he instructs the sheriff, and never in my life have I felt such satisfaction before.
Cross slides his arm around my sho
ulders and brings me into his chest as the sheriff places cuffs on Curtis and Sully, reading them their rights. Hauling them away, I hear their protests and threats, but I ignore them all as I savor the moment.
“Your statement won’t hold them for long, Isabella. We need evidence. Just take advantage of their confinement, and we should be able to find it,” the judge explains, and I hope he’s right. “For now, you two, get on out of here, and Colter will keep you updated.” His gaze meets mine, and when he tells me, “You’re safe now, Mrs. Malcolm,” I get the feeling he comprehends everything I’ve been through.
I nod as Cross and Zack lead the way out of the courthouse and onto the street. Half the people from the diner are standing there waiting to see what’s happening.
A loud cheer goes up, and Cross grins as he leans down to kiss me again, making me breathless as his tongue touches my lips, and his hands clasp my hips. I know he’s putting on a show, but I love it. I savor each delicious touch as we break apart slowly.
“You keep doing that and my heart may not start again,” I tease him.
“Don’t worry, sparrow, I’ll keep you going.” He winks and pulls me down the steps and over to his truck where we drive back to his ranch.
By the time we get there and park, his entire crew has adorned the house with a banner and silly decorations, and they hoot and holler like its homecoming, and we’re king and queen.
“Get to work!” Cross roars as he picks me up in his arms and carries me over the threshold to his house.
Our house.
“You’re mine now, Isabella,” he growls in my ear as he ascends the stairs to our bedroom. A moment of nerves hits me before I realize this is what I’ve always dreamed about.
A man who’s so obsessed with me, he can’t wait to make me his.
As I watch Cross, I know that this is the wish I’ve been longing for all my life.
Chapter Eight
