If the brother didn’t have much to recommend him, neither did the place he called home. They passed under a rusting archway, a cattle guard rattling beneath the tires. Wyatt could tell Haley was embarrassed by the place because she refused to look at him when they pulled up next to a ramshackle barn. He shut off the engine and hurried around to open the truck door for her. Her mouth popped open in surprise at the gesture and that damn near broke Wyatt’s heart. Had no one ever treated her like a lady? He offered his hand and she looked at it for a minute before taking it.
“I try to be a gentleman, Haley, and a gentleman always helps a lady from a vehicle.”
“A lady,” she whispered. “I swear.”
He put his hands on her waist and swung her down from the tall four-wheel drive, making her laugh. “I give you my word, I’ll never treat you as anything but.” He could see she struggled with meeting his gaze, but did it.
“Thank you.”
He was just about to lean in for tender kiss when he heard a screen door slam. Shit.
“Whoo-wee, that’s a fine-looking rig. Looks like you come up in the world, Haley girl.”
Wyatt clenched his teeth when she winced. For that alone, he wanted to kick Conner Kilpatrick’s ass. There was a subtle meanness in the tone of the brother’s voice that instantly put Wyatt’s back up. The urge to protect Haley had his fists balling at his sides but he swallowed it down. She wouldn’t appreciate him stepping in, no matter how badly the brother needed to learn some respect. Instead of going with his first instinct, he let Haley step away and turned to get his first look at Haley’s brother.
He was a good-looking fellow, at least he figured women would think so. Tall and rangy, he had the same golden-blond hair as Haley, the same brown eyes, though Haley’s lacked the calculation Wyatt saw in the brother’s. Clad only in a pair of worn jeans and flip-flops, he swaggered down the drooping stairs and sauntered toward them. Wyatt immediately put an arm around Haley’s shoulders and tucked her in close. Her spine straightened and she nodded to her brother.
“Conner. I come for the mares.”
The younger man scratched his bare belly. “I kin see the trailer.” He smiled then, one he probably took for charming but held all the allure of a rattler ready to strike. “At least come inside for a glass of tea and a word or two. Hell, I ain’t seen you for weeks. Been wondering where you got to.”
“A glass of tea would hit the spot,” Wyatt said, extending his hand. “Wyatt Brody. I’m Haley’s neighbor.”
The brother’s dark brown eyes narrowed calculatingly. “Neighbors, huh? Didn’t know my big sis had set down roots.” His gaze settled on Haley. “Where you living girl?”
“Nowhere near here. How’re the mares?”
“The damn mares are fine,” Conner said with a flash of anger. “All you ever care about is your damn horses.” He took a deep breath, then offered up an aw-shucks grin. “Sorry. I just been missing ya is all. Y’all come on inside.” He turned and they followed him in. “Excuse the mess. Hailey ain’t been here to clean up and you know how us bachelors are.” Wyatt knew how he kept his own place but figured Conner’s standards were less exacting.
The house was an old clapboard farmhouse, the paint peeled and stripped by the harsh Texas sun and wind. Inside, the wallpaper was faded and torn in places. An old box fan groaned in protest at the job of trying to cool the place. Grimy curtains hung listlessly from windows that had long since lost most of their caulking. Wyatt figured they probably rattled like all get out when the wind was up. A fine coating of dust and grit was testimony to that fact.
In the kitchen, crusty dishes filled the chipped porcelain farm sink. The walls around the stove were caked with grease stains and Wyatt felt a shiver rock Haley’s slender frame. He gave her shoulder a squeeze and pulled back a chair at the kitchen table. Her brother smirked at the simple gesture. He pulled out his own chair, spun it around on one leg, and straddled it.
“Why don’t you pour us some tea, Haley?” Conner said. It was plain he expected her to clean up.
“I ain’t thirsty. You thirsty, Wyatt?”
Wyatt gave Conner a hard stare. He’d give anything to wipe that smile off the asshole’s face. “Nope. Don’t reckon I am.”
Her brother shrugged and went to the fridge. “Reckon I’ll have me a beer then.” He twisted the top off a Lone Star and sat again. “Pa called the other day. He was pissed you didn’t send him no money. Wants you to go see him.”
Haley folded her arms over her chest and shook her head. “I’m done sending him money for cigarettes and Slim Jims. He wants money, you send it to him.”
Conner rolled his eyes. “And how do you expect me to do that? You ain’t given me no money either.”
Haley stood so fast she knocked the chair over. Good for her. She was pissed and didn’t bother hiding it. “And I won’t. I’m done with the both of ya. From now on, you want money, you’re gonna have to get it way the rest of us do, by working.” Wyatt stood, standing close beside her. Grim-faced, she looked at him. “Come on, Wyatt, let’s go load up my horses and get the hell outta here.”
“Now wait just a goddamn minute, Haley,” Conner shouted, tossing the wooden chair aside and following them out. “The way I see it, you owe me board and feed for them mares and you ain’t taking them nowhere ‘til you pay me.”
She skidded to a stop, boot heels kicking up dust. “That’s the way you see it, do you? Never mind I bought the feed and hay, or that I paid the rent on this place for the last six months.” She dug into her jeans pocket and pulled out a handful of bills, tossing several at her brother, shouting. “There. There’s your goddamn money, little brother. Spend it smart cause there won’t be no more.”
“Shee-it,” Conner hooted as she stormed toward the barn. “You must a come into some money, girl. Pa’ll be real happy to hear about this. He’ll be getting out soon.”
At Haley’s anguished sob, Wyatt’s vision actually blurred for a second. Jesus. He’d never in his life been moved to the heated violence he felt at that moment. He took a step toward Conner, right hand balled into a fist. He wanted to pound him into a bloody pulp. He shook his head. The brother was a useless waste of skin. What mattered now was Haley and getting her out of here. He uttered a vile curse, turned on his heel, and went after her.
Inside the barn, Haley was bent over, hands on her thighs, damn near hyperventilating. Wyatt went to her, took her in his arms. She struggled for a moment, then sagged against him.
“Oh god.” She clung to him as if his presence was all that kept her tethered to the ground. “They can’t let him out.” Then she burst into tears.
Wyatt rocked her back and forth, holding her tight. “Shhh…hush now, sweet pea. Nobody’s ever gonna hurt you again, you hear me? I swear on my life, Haley. I won’t let him hurt you ever again.”
She wrenched herself from his arms, turning her back to him. “You can’t stop him.” Using the sleeve of her shirt, she swiped at the tears and straightened her spine. When she faced him, she showed no expression.
“Haley.” He reached for her but she sidestepped him.
“Trust me, Wyatt. You don’t wanna get involved with me or my family. Let’s just get the horses and go.”
Wyatt nodded. There was no sense in trying to talk to her in her current state. Her face was a blank, eyes hollow and far away. He could tell by her compressed lips and tensed jaw that she was struggling to keep it all inside. Everything about her screamed “keep away”, so he’d back off and give her what she needed. For now. He followed her into the tack room and took the two lead lines she handed him.
The horses were in the far end of the barn and it was evident by the smell that the stalls hadn’t been mucked recently.
“Jesus,” he cursed, swinging open a stall. The smell of urine and manure was strong enough to sting his eyes and he knew Haley would be lucky if the horses’ feet weren’t permanently damaged.
Haley’s face was set in a grim mask as she l
ed a sorrel mare from a swampy stall. Without a word, she led the horse to a hose, turned on the spigot and rinsed off each hoof, carefully checking for injury. Together, they performed the same task with the remaining three mares, then loaded them into Wyatt’s trailer.
“I gotta get the tack, too,” she said, and headed back to the barn.
He checked out the saddles and bridles. “What all’s yours?”
“The four saddles on the top racks are mine, so are the bridles.” She grabbed the bridles and snatched a quirt off a nearby shelf. Wyatt followed her out with a saddle in each hand.
Haley tossed the bridles in the bed of the truck and approached her brother with a ground-eating stride.
“You lazy son of a bitch!” Raising the quirt, she laid into her brother. “How long have those horses been standing in them filthy stalls?” Conner stumbled backward, howling as she slashed at his bare chest with the riding crop. “How long, you no-account fucker? Did you even change the water? The buckets are full of slime and the feed and most of the hay is gone. Where’d it go, Conner?”
“God damn it,” Conner screeched, throwing up his arms in an attempt to avoid the blows. “Ow, that hurts you crazy bitch! I sold the feed and the hay, okay? Hell, I didn’t know if you was even coming back.”
Wyatt looked on impassively as she rained blow after stinging blow down on her brother. He didn’t blame her one bit. The man, if he could be called a man, deserved to be horsewhipped.
By the time she was finished with him, Conner was sprawled on the ground by the corral fence, his chest and arms covered with angry, red welts.
“You ever come around me again, I’ll cut off your dick and feed it to the hogs.” She raised the quirt again and Conner curled up in a ball. “Oh hell, you ain’t worth the effort.” She tossed the whip at his feet then, for good measure, kicked sand in his face. “Grow up, Conner.”
The younger man struggled to his feet, swaying slightly. He wiped his nose on his bare arm and laughed.
“It don’t matter what you do, Haley. How much money you got, where you live or that you got yourself a fancy man. You ain’t never gonna be anything but what you are—pure white trash. Just like me and Pa.”
Wyatt took a step toward him but Haley’s arm shot out, blocking his way. “Leave him. He’s right and I know it.”
Wyatt stomped angrily to the truck, yanked open the door for her. “That’s bullshit, that’s what that is, and you damn well know it.”
She sighed and gave him a look that made his stomach knot up. “You can put your boots in the oven, Wyatt, but that don’t make them biscuits. I am what I am, and that’s the truth of it.”
Chapter Four
With a full load, they drove more carefully on the return trip, stopping at the halfway point to check on the mares and grab a bite to eat. Settling into a corner booth at a tiny café, Haley was aware of Wyatt surreptitiously studying her over the top of his menu. At least he probably thought he was being subtle. She slapped her menu down on the table.
“You’re staring. Why don’t you just go ahead and ask.”
“Ask what?” Her jaw clenched when he cocked his head with wide-eyed innocence.
“Really? You’re gonna feed me a line when you been dying to ask about Conner?”
The waitress came up and they stopped talking. “What’ll it be?”
Wyatt spoke up first, probably to avoid her accusations. “Bacon cheeseburger with all the fixings, fries, and…” He paused. “Think I’ll have a large, chocolate shake. Cook that burger medium, will ya darlin’?”
Lined lips turned up in a smile. “You betcha, sugar.” Her gaze swiveled to Haley. “How ‘bout you, honey?”
“I’ll have the same but make my shake strawberry if you got it.”
“You got it, honey. Be back soon.”
“So,” Wyatt said when the waitress sauntered away. “I reckon I know all I need to know about Conner. How is it your pa came to raise you?”
Haley unrolled the napkin from around her silverware and placed it in her lap. This was the conversation she always hated having with people, and probably why she tended to keep them at arm’s length. Most didn’t understand why she didn’t take control of her own life, why she continued to let her father and her brother manipulate her. If she were to be completely honest with herself, she didn’t understand it either. But beating a dead horse wouldn’t bring it back to life, so she chose to freeze people out.
“My ma died. Wasn’t no place else for me to go.”
“I’m surprised Jack didn’t try to get your pa let you live with her.”
Haley shrugged. “She might have for all I know. Daddy said there wasn’t nobody left but us. I sure didn’t know Mamma had a sister, so Daddy probably kept her from telling.”
“Huh. Wonder why.”
Haley snorted. “Ain’t no big mystery to me. Jack probably knew him for what he was and didn’t approve. Daddy don’t like it when people buck him. ‘Specially women.”
Wyatt reached across the table and took her hand. She tried to pull away but he wouldn’t let her go.
“Did he hurt you, Haley?”
Her lips tightened. God, she hated this. “When he was drunk. Which was most of the time. Mostly I’d get Conner out the door before Daddy put hands on him.” She looked at Wyatt. “He was so little, ya know? The few times he did get his hands on Conner, he beat him bloody. I couldn’t stand it, so I—”
“You stepped in front of him and took the beating for him.”
Before Haley could comment, the waitress was back with their food and drinks. Haley focused on fixing her burger just so—lettuce on the bottom, then the meat, a thick slice of tomato, the onion and, lastly, the pickles. She put four equal sized dollops of mayonnaise on the top half of the bun, then cut the whole thing into two perfect halves. Anything to keep Wyatt at bay for a few more minutes. They reached for the ketchup at the same time and bumped hands. Her heart thumped as he caressed the back of her hand with his fingers.
“Go ahead.”
She flushed at the contact and offered up a shy smile with a soft, “Thanks.”
She looked up when he chuckled as she squirted ketchup all over her fries, practically drowning them in the sweet, spicy concoction.
”You are a marvel of inconsistency. You constructed and cut that burger with the precision of an architect but doused your fries with enough ketchup you can’t hardly tell what you got on your plate.”
She shrugged and watched as Wyatt stacked the fixings on his burger, squirted on some ketchup, then put more on his plate for his fries. Messy burger, tidy plate. “So, you think there’s any truth to what Conner said? About your pa getting out soon?”
Haley was about to take a bite of burger. She held it in the air, hand shaking, hating that her fear of Kent Kilpatrick was so visible.
“Lord, I hope not.” She took a bite then set it carefully on the plate while she wiped her hand on the napkin. “Probably a mistake for me to stay in one place too long. I should sell everything and get the hell outta Dodge.” She swallowed, then took another bite. Anything to keep from continuing this conversation.
“Gonna run from him for the rest of your life, are ya?”
She sat up straight, back stiff as a pole. People were always so willing to judge when they couldn’t possibly understand.
“What do know about anything, Wyatt Brody? You come from a home where people loved you. You knew where your next meal was gonna come from. That you’d have a warm bed to sleep in at night.”
“You’re right, darlin’, I did have folks who loved me. I never went to bed cold or hungry but that don’t mean I don’t know loss, that I’ve never felt pain. I grew up never knowing the love of my own ma. Your Aunt Jack, she did a fine job of filling in when she could but she had her own ranch to run. And my pa, he was a good man. I know he loved me, but he didn’t know what to do with a little kid. Most times the only difference between me and one of the hands was that I went to bed in the bi
g house. Wasn’t ‘til he got sick that we got close. I figure my life was a lot like yours in some ways. I never played sports, never went to parties. Hell, I was too tired from working and going to school. So I get it, okay? And I get that your first instinct is to run. But there comes a time when you have to make a stand. You’ve got something worth fighting for.”
“I wanna keep him outta my life, I gotta keep moving. It’s the only way.”
“Is it?” He took a big bite from his burger, while she practically burned with righteous indignation. How could he possibly compare his life to hers? He set his burger down and wiped his mouth. “You got Geronimo and the mares. One getting ready to foal any time. You inherited a real fine ranch. Stay. Breed and train barrel horses. Make a name for yourself.”
“But what about—”
“You become part of the community, you’ll have folks that’ll stand with you if your family tries to make trouble. Plus, you’ve got Dooley and Maria. And me. We’ve got your back, Haley. Stay. You got a chance to make your dreams come true. Be foolish not to take it.”
Haley nodded, swiped at the tears leaking from the corners of her eyes. He made it sound so simple. Take control. Make a home for herself. Build something good from the ashes of her life. “I’ll remind you of how you got my back when my daddy and Conner come to call.”
Wyatt grinned. “You do that.”
She looked down at her plate, then back up at him. “I’m sorry.”
“For what?”
“For wallowing in self-pity. At least I had a few good years with my ma. I can remember her if I think on it real hard. And I can recollect how she smelled, the sound of her voice when she hummed lullabies. I’m sorry you don’t have those memories.”
“Apology accepted.” He pointed at her food. “Now eat. We got a ways to go yet and horses to look after once we get there.”
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