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“You got me anyway.” He barely waits to finish his sentence before he presses his lips against mine again. I pull him close, relishing this turn of events. Here, far from the place I once knew as my hometown, I’ve finally found a place my heart can call home.
Rhett
As much as I’d like to kiss her all night, we have more pressing matters. After taking Chance out, and planning to ride hard into the night to search of solace, I came to the conclusion I shared with her. I hate it when people judge me by that time I spent in foster care, or the time I spent living in a homeless shelter. Those were parts of me that had more to do with my circumstances, and I feel like she’s dealing with the same. I really do know her; I just don’t know what happened to her.
Once I made that connection, I untacked Chance and rushed back because the next conclusion was far more dangerous. They know where she is, and it’s only a matter of time before they come for her or she leaves. I knew I’d have to stop both if I had any chance at future happiness.
I rest my forehead against hers, letting our breathing normalize for a minute. “Why is there a packed bag by the couch?”
Her lips brush against mine, whether she can’t stay away or she’s trying to distract me, I’m not sure, but it’s cute either way.
“You thought you could leave?” I ask when she doesn’t answer me.
“I thought I could protect you.”
Bending down, I grab her bag by the handle and toss it back into her bedroom. So she knows I’m teasing, I flash a grin. “You’re normally so smart. What happened?”
She laughs, but it’s still heavy despite the positive turn of events. “He’s not gonna stop, Rhett.”
“Neither will I.” And I mean it. I take her hands in mine. “Do you believe me? With everything that’s happened, have I earned your trust yet?”
Those full lips of hers grind together before they pop apart. “Yes, of course. Come sit down. It’s time I tell you everything.”
She pulls me by my hand to the couch and takes a seat turning to face me. “I guess I’ll start at the beginning. Back when it was just me and Dad.” Tears cloud her eyes, and she looks away for a second to gain control again. “The stuff I told you was true. My mom died when I was young, and I was raised by my Dad. He’s uh, he’s a vet.” She looks away like it’s too hard to talk about it. “He’s an amazing equine vet, and he taught me everything he knows just by working by his side. I’ve been his assistant most of my life. He always thought I’d follow him, become a vet and he’d pass everything down to me.” Pain clenches her features until she smothers it back. “But it never felt like my passion, and that’s been an issue for us for years.”
“But that’s how you know how to fix their spines? And how you knew how to save Chief?”
“Yeah.” She shrugs it off like it’s the same as learning to change a tire from her father. “I watched him for years as a child, and then when I got old enough, he started to teach me. I’m not licensed, so don’t sue me, but I swear I know what I’m doing. He teaches classes on the subject, and I’ve been there for most of them. I feel like I could repeat it all verbatim at this point.”
I think back on my search to find Dr. Hutchings to see if he’d heard of Sunny. Lot of good that would have done if I found him. Sunny never went through formal education. I leave it alone for now, not wanting to interrupt her train of thought.
“When I turned fifteen, Dad started dating Charlene. She was this sophisticated woman with two older boys. Anderson, he was twenty-three and in the Army. Tucker was eighteen and home more. We’ve always been closest. I can’t imagine how much he’s worrying with me running away like I have. Whenever Charlene came down on me for something, Tucker’s always been there to let me vent and rage. He has this old Mustang he restored, and he takes me for trips up the canyon near where I live.”
I like the sound of that version of her, face in the sun, wind blowing that blonde hair that caught my eye from day one. I wouldn’t mind seeing it for myself.
“Charlene never liked me, even though I tried. I think she was used to being the only female in the family, and no matter what she did, I was always Dad’s favorite.” Her mouth twists to one side. “At least until I got older and everything we never talked about, my life plans, his business, all of it started shoving between us.”
“What would you want to do instead?”
“I don’t know.” Her gaze locks on the bedroom wall, but I know she’s not looking at anything. Memories are like that; they play on the mind’s eye like a theater for one. “That’s the dumb thing. I think I just didn’t want to have it all decided for me. I wanted my own choices. After my time here, and being away from it all, there’s nothing else I’d rather do.”
“I know what you mean. I was literally adopted to inherit this ranch. It’s the whole reason I have a family, and I love the work, but there’s never been another option.” It feels good to see understanding in her eyes. “If I were left to choose on my own, I’d pick it every time, but when someone tells me there’s nothing else, I immediately want to rebel.”
“And I did. I made a lot of stupid choices, I got in some bad situations. That’s when Anderson started training me. He didn’t like where those choices led, and he wanted me to stay safe no matter what.” She goes distant again, but the memories don’t light her up. I know what it’s like to regret, and she looks like she’s seen her share of it. “The first assault charge was self-defense, it’s not my fault the guy couldn’t take a punch. My Dad got me out of it. I got in fights, I refused to follow any of Dad’s rules, and it all culminated in that riding injury I told you about. Something spooked my horse, he reared up, and I came off at a bad angle. Even with my helmet, the headaches and neck pain wouldn’t stop. That’s when Charlene suggested some pills. I was willing to take anything to get rid of the pain. But that was the problem, it took away everything, all of me. I became someone else, someone I didn’t recognize. I felt out of control, like my choices weren’t my own.”
I have a feeling this story doesn’t have a happy ending. I wish I could scold her like she did to me on the beach, but that’s the difference. Mine was fiction, hers is the past.
“The night that it happened, Dad and I, we got into it really bad. There was this gala he dragged me to, probably in hopes of convincing me to change my mind about my future. He pulled out all the stops, he had me meet all the movers and shakers in the industry, made sure the caterers had my favorite foods, and I swear every eligible bachelor within a five-hour radius was there.” She must notice the way I tense at the thought because she gives my hand a squeeze. “I didn’t talk to a single one of them. I was so angry with him for trying to control me. We fought so much, first at the gala, and then in the parking lot, and then again at home.” Her eyes tighten, as though she’s trying to see through fog. “After that, it’s hazy at best. I took pills before bed because my head was splitting open. I woke up, but I didn’t know why. I remember running down the hallway. Someone was shouting and screaming, but it bounced off the walls all around me. In my dreams, it was me screaming, but I don’t know if that’s real. And then I came around the corner,” her lips twist as her mouth curves into a deep frown, “and he was on the floor, face down, blood all over the tile. I had a gun.” She caves under the words she can’t say, crashing forward into her hands. “I killed him. I killed my Dad.”
I pull her close even when her body remains collapsed in on itself. For a long time, we stay like that. I don’t know how to help her or what to say to fix this. At the same time, I can’t imagine the woman I know killing someone in cold-blood, even if her medication was screwing with her mind.
My fingers tangle into her hair, pressing it back from her face so I can wipe the tears from her cheeks. “Is that when you ran?”
Her head gives a gentle shake. “I only have snatches of a memory, but the next thing I know for sure was I woke up in my bed the following morning.” She sniffles and wipes at her nose. “My head was clear. I ran down the hall, straight for the living room, but there was nothing. No body. No blood. Nothing. I thought I was losing it. I went back to my room, totally confused. If not for the package on my bed, I might have chalked it up to a waking nightmare.”
I don’t want to ask. I want this to be all a bad dream. If Sunny’s done what she thinks she did, the consequences are dire. Even an accidental shooting will have penalties that have to be paid. I hold my breath, waiting for some good news.
“It was the gun. The one I was holding by his body.” Her head shakes rapidly, as if her body refuses to believe the story. “And pictures of me standing over him, holding it. The note was simple. You won’t get away with it. Turn yourself in.”
