you and this room cleaned up so you can find your man. You can fix this.”
“Okay.” We spend the better part of the afternoon cleaning up the mess. I take a shower, cleaning off the grime and soot, carefully washing between my legs. I’m sore. My body warms thinking of JT between my legs. Do I want this? Yes. I want him again and again, if he’ll have me. I search for my phone. I want to call him. I want to hear his voice. When he doesn’t answer I leave him a text message.
Lily: where r u?
JT: back on the bluff, meet me
I can’t help but smile. There is at least an hour before dark. Clouds are slowly filling the sky. The sunset will be beautiful. I dress in a pair of jeans, pulling a sweater over a t-shirt. I stick my feet into my boots then shove my phone into the side of one of my boots.
Five whinnies when she sees me. I give her a carrot and brush her down. Forgoing a saddle I strap on a bareback pad. Five has been my one constant since my parent’s deaths. Whenever I am sad or frustrated I know she will always be there for me. I laugh at the memory of riding to the pond with JT. He mentioned breeding her to with Lucky Shot. She would be a good mom.
We take our time walking the path to the ridge. I’m glad I wore a sweatshirt, it’s getting chilly. My rain jacket is in the pack, attached to the saddle I hadn’t put on Five. I cast aside my worry. We’ll be back just after dark anyhow and I won’t be alone.
When I get to the bluff I don’t see Lucky Shot. He wasn’t at the barn when I left. Maybe JT took a different route. I hop off, leaving Five to graze. I take in the view and clean crisp air. I can already see the shades of gold and yellow peeking through the horizon.
I turn when I hear a rustle in the bushes. Expecting to see JT I turn with a smile on my face. Instead, blue eyes are staring back at me with malice and hatred. Nick.
“What are you doing here?” I take a step back. Did he follow JT?
“I want to make you a deal darlin’.” His face is hard. The lines of his jaw are tense but the scariest part of him is his eyes. The sinister look he gives me fills me with dread.
“What kind of deal?”
“The kind of deal you can’t refuse. You walk away. I’ll claim the ranch, sell it back to the Tanner’s and give you a cut of the profit.”
“If I don’t?”
“You don’t want to know what happens if you don’t take the deal.” He’s stepping closer to me. The wind is whipping my hair into my face. I brush it aside, pulling up the sweatshirt hood. The light is dimming. Drops of rain begin to fall.
“It already belongs to JT. You have no rights to claim.”
“No. He has to marry you to keep his claim.” He looks at my hand. His face contorts when he sees the wedding set glimmering in the waning sunlight. “You stupid bitch! All you had to do was walk away!” He stalks towards me. I try back away. My feet are at the precipice of a steep decline in the bluff, too far from the trails for safety. My eyes are on Nick when I see another glint, a hunting knife appears in his hand.
I can either jump or face Nick with the knife. JT’s face flashes before me.
“Where’s JT?”
“With that slut Blanche, of course. I got there just in time to relieve him of his phone.” He taps a few buttons on the phone. He hands me the phone with a picture on the screen of a half-naked Blanche on top of JT. I recognize the truck they are in. She’s straddling him with her face in his neck. Ugh!
“That’s not possible. He would never do that to me!” The wind is kicking up, blowing my tears into streaks down my face. Then it hits me. Nick and Blanche are in this together, trying to break us apart. With me out of the way Blanche could have JT to herself and Nick would get the land. The acid in my stomach churns. I look at the picture again. “No! What happened to JT?”
“Look at the picture darlin’. He’s shit faced, all