wasn’t carrying Mick anywhere else. He’d done his part, and now Mick needed to wake up. “Does Bolton have a bucket anywhere?”
Miss Taylor turned. “I’m sure he does. Let me check.” She wandered off and returned with a small metal bucket. “Do you think he might get sick?”
Ty grabbed the bucket and strode out of the barn without answering. There was a spigot just outside. He returned with the bucket, pulled it back, and before she could protest, Mick was saturated in cold water.
Mick sat up sputtering, eyes wide.
Ty dropped the bucket and folded his arms. “Rise and shine, Breeden. Time to meet your family.”
Mick’s wide eyes narrowed as they met Ty’s. He scrambled to his feet and raised his fist. “You son of a—”
Holding up his hands, Ty motioned to Miss Taylor. “You’re a lot of things, Mick, but you wouldn’t hit a guy in front of a lady. I found the letter in your bag.”
Mick froze, fist midair as he glanced in Miss Taylor’s direction. He lowered his arm, his eyes hardening and his jaw ticking side to side. “What have you done, Langston?” He dragged a hand through his hair, water droplets flicking to the ground.
“You forced my hand, Breeden. You need help.”
“What do you know?” he yelled.
Miss Taylor flinched and Ty stepped in front of her. “Knock it off, Mick. We’re going inside and figuring this all out. At the very least, you’ll have some answers.”
“I’m not going anywhere. You had no right!”
Ty shook his head and closed the distance between them. He lowered his voice. “Just hear them out, then you can decide if you want to stick around or not. Don’t make this harder than it has to be. You said you wanted a job and a family. Well, here’s your chance.”
“I never said that,” Mick growled through gritted teeth. “I said I don’t have those things.”
“Well, now you might.” Ty placed his hand on Mick’s shoulder. “Come on, let’s go.” When he turned around, Miss Taylor was gone. His eyes scanned the premises but she was nowhere to be seen. He shoved down the disappointment and replaced it with determination. It was just as well. He didn’t want complications, and that meant no relationships.
They headed across the path toward the main house. “You’re going to pay for this, Langston.”
Ty snorted.
“I mean it. If I had wanted to be here, I wouldn’t have been drinking with you yesterday. I don’t want to be here. I don’t belong here.”
“You don’t know that. You belong where you’re wanted, Breeden. If that means you belong with a bunch of strangers… well, then count yourself lucky.” Ty ambled up the creaking steps to the house and knocked on the front door. It opened and Miss Taylor nodded to them.
“It was nice to meet you, Ty.” She darted past them and down the stairs. Ty glanced over his shoulder as she left. Then his eyes met Mick’s.
Mick sneered. “Looks like you belong here more than I do.”
Ty scowled. “How do you figure?”
“I saw the way you looked at her. You want to stay here more than I want to leave.”
Ty rolled his eyes. “Whatever.” That tightness in his chest wouldn’t abate. There was something about Miss Taylor that had become lodged within him and he couldn’t get rid of it. If Mick was right, Ty was in trouble, more than he’d ever been.
They walked inside to find Bolton pacing the front room, a phone to his ear. “You can’t be serious. Why didn’t you ever mention her?” He glanced at Ty and Mick as they came in and waved them over. “That’s no excuse.” A scowl deepened the lines on his face and he ran his hand through his hair. “So it’s true, then.”
Mick stiffened beside Ty. He folded his arms and his features darkened.
“Well, where is she now?” Bolton’s gaze flicked to Mick and it tightened. “What do you mean, you don’t know? Haven’t you tried to find her?” He shook his head. “We’ll talk more about this later.” He hung up and tossed the phone on a nearby couch.
The front room was similar to the one Ty had grown up in. Lavish rustic decorations oozed evidence of money. Though the decorations he’d grown up with had been more modern, it felt the same.
Ty’s skin crawled. Nope, Mick was wrong. He didn’t want to stay, not in this place that would suffocate him just as much as his childhood home had. More money meant more problems and he