by Addison Cole
“I’m done with this. Dad’s not here, and her parents aren’t here. Even if they were, I can’t live a lie. It’s not who I am. It’s time to end this crap.”
Rex took a determined step forward and was pulled back by Treat’s strong grip on his arm.
“The minute you do this, you have to be ready for the fallout back home,” Treat warned.
Rex’s eyes didn’t waver from Jade.
“Rex, look at me.”
He shifted his determined eyes.
“I’ll stand behind you—we all will—but are you one-hundred-percent sure that she’s the one? Because if you’re not, you’re gonna dig a ditch that you might be buried in, and it might not be worth it.”
The flash of rage happened so quickly that Rex couldn’t buffer it. “She’s the one, and if I’m buried because of it, as long as she’s with me, it’s worth it.” He yanked his arm from his brother’s and stalked over to Jade and Jimmy. He had no intention of causing a scene. Jimmy was a nice enough guy, and the only thing he was doing wrong was ogling the wrong woman.
“Rex.” Jade centered him, dulling the sharp edges of his anger.
“Hi, babe,” he said. “Jimmy, you mind?” He draped his arm around Jade’s shoulder.
“A Johnson and a Braden?” Jimmy lifted his eyebrows in surprise. “You gotta be kidding me.” He laughed under his breath.
“Jimmy, I’ve lost my dance partner. Dance with me?” Savannah, in her typical manipulative, flirty fashion, pulled him alongside of her, then flashed a wink at Rex.
The music slowed, and Jade wrapped her arms around Rex. He guided her chin up so he could look into her eyes.
“I’m sorry. I wanted to tell Blake you were my girlfriend, but I was afraid of people finding out.”
She blinked several times, renewed worry shading her eyes.
“What?” Rex asked.
“And you think dancing with me isn’t going to cause a stir?”
His heart swelled with love. Everything about Jade fed him in some way; her sensuality fed his sexual desires, her thoughtfulness fed his heart, the way she worried about animals, and the way she loved Riley and her family, fed his loyalty. It killed him to know that instead of feeding her right back, he’d been souring her with hurt.
He lowered his mouth to hers in a greedy, possessive kiss. She smelled sweet and familiar, and the press of her softness against him warmed him with need as he pulled her closer, covetously deepening the kiss, until they parted with the need to breathe.
“I can’t hide anymore,” he said. He took her mouth again, there, in the middle of the dance floor, with his family beside him and half the town watching.
Jade splayed her fingers on his stomach as their lips drew apart. He could feel her trembling against him. Her eyes darted around the crowd, a flush rising on her cheeks. He wrapped one arm around her lower back; the other gently held the back of her head as he pulled her close and whispered in her ear, “I’ll never hurt you again. I’m telling my father tonight, and I’ll go with you to talk to your family when you’re ready.”
She looked up at him, the hurt in her eyes replaced with love. “I’m ready,” she said.
Rex’s world had never felt so right. He was in for the fight of his life with the man who gave him life—for the woman who would give that life meaning.
Chapter Thirty-Four
REX TOOK JADE’S hand, and together they forged forward on a path to change the course of their lives. The thundering in his heart was no longer weighted by anger or longing. It was pushed and thrust by the knowledge that after tonight, the world would know about him and Jade, and they’d no longer have to hide. He wouldn’t have to replay their morning together over and over. He would relive it for years to come.
His brothers, Savannah, Max, and Riley all hurried behind them as each determined step brought them closer to the gate.
“Where are you going?” Savannah asked, out of breath from jogging behind his long strides.
“We’re going to tell Jade’s parents before her dad hears it from someone else,” he called over his shoulder.
“Her parents?” Savannah said. “Treat?” Her phone rang. She hung back as the others raced forward.
“I’m here.” Treat caught up to Rex. “I’m coming with you,” he said. He asked Max what she wanted to do, and Max said she’d stay with Riley, Blake, and Danica.
Rex stopped at the gate. Josh and Treat stood beside him, adrenaline causing their chests to heave with every excited breath.
“I can do this alone,” he said.
“No way. This feud is bigger than you, Rex. I know how much you feel for Jade, and, Jade, I know how much you love my brother. But I also know how things can get out of hand too fast to comprehend. We’re going with you.” Treat left no room for negotiation.
Rex pulled Jade forward. “Fine.”
“Wait!” Savannah yelled, jogging to catch up to them. “Dad just called. Hope is going nuts. He can’t keep her from rolling, and now she’s trying to bite her stomach. He can’t reach Dr. Baker.”
Treat and Rex exchanged a glance that held an entire silent conversation.
“Josh, you go with Rex. I’ll go home and see what’s going on,” Treat said.
“She needs a vet, Treat, not us,” Savannah said.
“I can go,” Jade offered without a moment’s hesitation.
“What about your parents?” Rex reminded her. “Someone might say something. I don’t trust Jimmy not to try and cause a ruckus.”
“Oh, I think Jimmy’ll be fine,” Savannah said with a confident smirk.
“Your father wouldn’t call if Hope didn’t need help, right?” Jade asked.
She was right, but there was no way his father would let her anywhere near Hope. “Jade…”
“Come on, you guys. Do I have to figure everything out?” Savannah barged between them. “We’ll all go to Dad’s. Josh and I will get Dad sidetracked and back up to the house. Rex, you and Treat take over for him with Hope; then Jade swoops in when Dad’s safely inside.” Savannah nodded at their contemplating eyes. “Well, come on. Let’s go.”
Rex put his hands on Jade’s shoulders. “Are you sure you want to do this before we settle things? I’m sure I can find another vet somewhere.”
“You can’t find another vet fast enough. If her stomach twists, she could die, Rex. We have to do this. I want to do this.” She put her hands on his arms. “Besides, I’m not afraid of any of this. Love conquers all, right? Isn’t that the way things are supposed to work?” She withdrew the charm from beneath her shirt and held it out for him to see.
He touched his finger to the lump beneath his own collar, his love for her consuming him. “It is,” he said, thinking of all the signs that had blessed them in the last few days. From his mother’s charms miraculously finding them at just the right time to her mother seeking him out. What were the chances? Now he could only hope that love could conquer the most difficult road block of all. His father.
HOPE WAS SLAMMING her body against the stall walls when they arrived. Her nostrils flared and her neck flailed forward and back. They heard their father’s voice before they saw him. He came in the back door shaking his head, his face a tense mask of worry and irritation.
Treat and Rex stood by the stall. “What happened?” Rex asked.
“It’s gotta be colic. She was fine for the past few hours, but then she began rolling and craning her neck. I brought her in, and she’s been doing this since. I tried Dr. Baker, but he was out on an emergency over in Preston.”
“Dad, let Treat and Rex take over. Come with us, and we’ll look up other vets.” Savannah took her father’s arm and tried to walk with him, but he stood firm.
“Dad.” Josh’s eyes opened wide. His eyes darted between Rex and his father, and before he could stop himself, “Jade Johnson is a vet,” fell from his lips.
Treat and Rex burned stares in his direction. Their father did the same.
“No Johnson is touc
hing your mother’s horse,” he said in a firm tone.
“She might be Hope’s only chance if this is really colic. Did you take her temperature?”
“Since when did you become a horse expert?” his father asked. “She has no other signs. She was rolling, craning her neck, and snapping. I’m no vet, but I think we’re looking at some kind of stomach issue.”
Rex shot a hot stare at Josh. “Dad, you’ve been at this all day. Go with Savannah and Josh. We’ll sit with her and see if we can calm her down.”
“Go on. We’ve got this,” Treat said.
With Savannah’s persistent yank on his arm, their father reluctantly went toward the house.
Rex grabbed Josh’s arm. “What was that all about?”
“I thought maybe he’d make it easier for everyone and just let Jade help.” Josh shrugged.
“Whatever. Just keep him in the house.” Rex heard Jade’s car pull up behind the trees along the road. He pulled out his cell phone and called her.
“He’s inside,” he said when she answered.
A few minutes later, she entered the back door of the barn, carrying her medical bag.
JADE’S NERVES FELT like wires that had been pulled too tight. She kept looking at the barn doors, waiting for Hal Braden to storm in and throw her out.
“What can we do?” Rex asked.
“I’m fine with Hope, but I’m really nervous about your dad. Can you guys just give me space to work and watch for your dad?” she asked.
Rex kissed her lightly. “Thank you. I know this is a lot to ask.”
“Nothing is too much for an animal.” She watched them go to the barn doors, two strong sentries allowing her to do the thing she loved most next to being with Rex.
Jade closed her eyes and breathed deeply for a few seconds. She inhaled the smell of straw, leather, and the unique scent of hot horses, and when she opened her eyes, Hope was looking right at her.
“Hi, sweet girl.” She calmly stroked the side of her jaw. “You’re not feeling so well, huh?” Hope stopped throwing her body from side to side. She nudged Jade’s solar plexus over the gate of her stall. “That’s a girl,” she said.
She unlatched the stall and opened the gate.
“Jade, be—”
She cut Rex off with a silent palm in the air. Hope walked out of the stall, and Jade tried to ignore Rex’s eyes watching over her. She focused on leading Hope toward the back of the barn, where she tied her lead to another stall. The center of the barn stretched about twelve feet wide between the stalls on the left and the ones on the right. Jade moved with slow and careful steps to Hope’s side, speaking in a soothing voice.
“I’m just going to do a quick exam, Hope.” She rested her ear against Hope’s stomach, relieved to hear plenty of stomach noises. She took the horse’s temperature, her pulse, and when she moved to Hope’s head to check the mucus membrane in her mouth, she was drawn in by the sad look in Hope’s eyes. Jade pet her muzzle gently.
“It’s okay, sweetie. I’m just going to open your mouth, okay?”
Hope neighed and pushed her nose into Jade’s chest again. Most women would worry about their blouse or the wetness that brushed their skin, but to Jade, the feeling of the horse against her body was a blessing. It meant that Hope was comfortable with her, which was half the battle when examining a horse.
She checked Hope’s gums and her capillary refill time.
“I’m not seeing anything alarming here, Hope. What’s going on in that pretty head of yours?” She stroked Hope’s side and checked her eyes and skin for dehydration.
Jade glanced at Rex, who was still watching every move she and Hope made. She wanted to tell Rex that she wasn’t concerned with her findings, but she didn’t want to break the bond she and Hope had established by hollering to Rex. Instead, she spoke to Hope.
“Okay, sweetie, I’m just going to give you a bit of a massage. This will help ease whatever is going on in your belly.” She rested her palms on Hope’s body until she found her rhythm. Then she worked her way along her stomach meridian.
She heard Treat and Rex approach before she saw them. They watched in silence as she inched her fingertips along Hope’s body, feeling for abnormalities beneath her fingers. Hope was no longer cranking her neck. She was still and calm as Jade took extra time around the same point where she’d massaged Berle, and so many other horses, to alleviate stomach discomfort.
REX’S ADORATION FOR Jade multiplied just watching her put so much love and energy into Hope. He was mesmerized with the care she took, every ounce of her focus on the horse, and as she spoke to Hope, her voice was soothing and calm, as if she were talking to a child or a lover. Despite himself, he began to picture her with a child. With his child.
“She’s doing fine,” Jade said a few minutes later. “I don’t think you’re looking at colic. She’s too stable for that. The exam showed no indication of colic other than what your father said about her behavior, and that could just be stomach discomfort. She might have become stressed over the show today, and that alone could have sent her tummy into distress.”
“What’s she doing here?”
They all spun around at the sound of Hal’s voice. He stood at the barn entrance, his wide shoulders and height accentuated by the moonlight.
“Dad,” Rex said. He looked between the woman he loved and the man whom he also loved, feeling the pull of each in his chest.
“Don’t you Dad me, Rex Braden,” he said as he neared. His father narrowed his dark eyes, which had gone almost black. “You step back from Hope,” he said to Jade.
“Dad, Hope’s fine,” Rex said.
His father wasn’t listening. He was staring at the necklace that hung around Jade’s neck, exposed for all to see. His chest rose and fell with each breath as he stepped closer to Jade.
Rex stepped between them just as Treat came to his side.
“Hope needed a vet. Jade’s an excellent vet,” he said.
“Step out of my way, son,” Hal ordered in a deep, cold voice.
Rex crossed his arms. “I’m not moving until I know you are gonna be civil to her.”
His father put one strong arm out and pushed his son aside. Rex turned to retaliate, and Treat gripped his arm—hard—restraining him.
“What the hell?” Rex said angrily.
“Where did you get that?” his father asked Jade.
She brought a nervous hand up to her necklace and fingered the cool silver.
“I asked you a question, Jade Johnson.”
Savannah and Josh flew into the barn.
“He said he was going to lie down,” Josh said. “I didn’t think anything of it until I went to check on him and found his bed empty and the door cracked open.”
“It’s okay,” Treat said.
“Dad,” Savannah said, coming to his side, “Jade’s helping Hope.”
One look from her father sent her two steps backward.
Rex yanked his arm free from Treat and approached his father. “Dad, you want to read someone the riot act, you read it to me.”
“I plan to,” he said, his eyes never moving from Jade’s. “Just as soon as she answers my question.”
“I…We…” Jade began, then swallowed hard.
Rex wasn’t going to let Jade flounder at the hands of his father, no matter what trouble it might cause. He loved her and he was done pretending he didn’t. She was his to protect. What kind of man let their girlfriend go up against his own father alone?
He stepped between them again, and his father pulled himself up to his full height; the three inches that separated them allowed his father to look down upon him. The loyal man in Rex almost relented. He almost lowered his eyes and stepped aside, but Jade’s whisper of a touch, a quick brush of her fingertips on his back, was enough to give him the courage and strength he needed to confront his father.
“You want to talk to Jade, you do it with respect.” He crossed his arms to keep them from shaking. “I gave her that nec
klace. You got a problem with it? You take it up with me, not her.”
There was a direct line of tension from his father’s dark eyes to his. His siblings watched on, but Rex barely registered them. He had tunnel vision, and all of the recent tension and the hiding came rushing back to him, with the last fifteen years close on its heels. His father was at one end of the dark tunnel, and protecting Jade was the light at the other end. The space in between was thick with tension and matters of the heart that were too magnanimous to be defined.
“Step aside, son,” his father said.
“I’m not moving, Dad.” He reached into his shirt and pulled out his own necklace.
His father drew in a sharp breath and blew it out his nose. “I asked once, and I’m not fixing to ask again. Where did you get that necklace?”
“I’ll tell you anything you want to know. I’ve got nothing to hide, and I’m not ashamed of anything I’ve done—except hiding my relationship with Jade.” Rex took a step to the side and wrapped Jade’s trembling body within the safety of his arms.
His father shot a look at Treat. “You knew about this?”
Treat looked dead center in his father’s eyes. “Yes, sir, I did.”
“So did I,” Josh said as he stepped forward.
“Me too,” Savannah added.
His father stood surrounded by them, breathing hard, his face growing redder by the second, and for a beat, Rex felt sorry for him.
“I never thought I’d see the day that a Johnson would turn my own children against me.”
“Mr. Braden, I’m not turning—”
He interrupted her with a gruff demand. “I wanna know one thing and one thing only.” He looked at Rex. “Where did you get those necklaces?”
“I’ll tell you that just as soon as you apologize to Jade.” Rex knew he was playing with fire. No one challenged his father, especially not one of his own children.
His father crossed his arms. Rex did the same.
Suddenly, Hope whinnied and threw her body from side to side. Rex swooped Jade out of her reach.
