Page 52 of Auctioned to the Cowboys

She nods, her hand rubbing her upper arm over her lilac sweater. “Are you going to look after them now?” Her dark brown eyes assess me, searching my expression.

“We all will,” I say. “For as long as they want us to.”

“That’s good,” she says. “Taylor deserves the world for all that she’s been through. You make sure you give her that and nothing less.”

I don’t know what to say in the face of such fierce friendship. I could tell her that I wish I could give Taylor the world, but most of the time, I don’t trust myself at all. I could tell her that with Taylor, I’m starting to hope for things I never dared to before. She brings out the best in me: protective instincts, kindness, a desire to do everything in my power to keep her safe and make her happy. But now’s not the time and place to confess things I’m not ready to admit to myself, so I smile and take two steps back before I turn and walk away.

It takes fifteen minutes for the cops to arrive. Jesse outlines Taylor’s dad’s crimes, excluding the bride auction. The threatening behavior, damage to property, and sexual abuse will be enough to get him put away. Taylor will give a statement because she wants to keep her sister safe. This is the only way to ensure her father won’t try to come for them both.

On the drive home, Taylor sits in the middle, and Molly rests her head on her sister’s lap and falls asleep. “She must be exhausted,” she whispers, stroking her hair back from Molly’s face with tender care. I rest my arm protectively around Taylor’s shoulders, wanting her to feel my strength and know she doesn’t have anything to fear now.

For the first time in my life, I trust that I’ll do the right thing by a woman, enough to make a life with her. All the years, I worried I would be like my father, that the pressure of love and family life would push me over the edge now seem so stupid.

I’m not him. I’m nothing like him.

I can do this. But what I’m capable of being to Taylor might not be what she wants.

“Everything’s going to be all right now,” I say because it’s what she needs to hear.

But even though my heart wants to believe it, too, I know Jesse, Clint, and I need to face up to how wrong our role is in Taylor’s life and make it right however we can.

18

JESSE

FREE FALLING

It’s late when we arrive back at the ranch. Mitch has fallen asleep on the couch in the den with his hands crossed over his belly and his mouth open. I touch him gently on the shoulder, not wanting to give the man a heart attack by waking him too quickly. “Mitch, we’re home.”

He awakens with a long inhale of breath and blinks his tired eyes.

“Did you find Molly?”

“Yeah. She’s upstairs getting settled in with Taylor.”

“That’s good. Me and Barb were so worried.” He sits up straighter and looks to the corner of the room, his expression pensive. “There shouldn’t be any bad feelings between us,” he says tightly. “I can’t tell you I understand what you’re doing here. I can’t tell you that I respect it, either. But you’re like a son to me, and so are those other boys. And Taylor and her sister… well, they need good people around them.”

“They do.” I rub the back of my neck, feeling the weight of two worlds on my shoulders. My past and future are warring, and the people I love face a quandary. It doesn’t feel good.

“Barb told me she thinks Beth was wrong in how she dealt with things. She likes Taylor. She doesn’t want her to think we’re judging her, but this lifestyle doesn’t fit our beliefs.”

“I love her,” I tell Mitch softly. “We all do. And we’ll look after her for as long as we have life in our bones. It might not be a marriage that God can sanctify, but it’ll be a relationship built on affection, respect, and love. I hope you’ll be able to accept that.”

Mitch nods, pursing his lips thoughtfully. “Your sister’s going to be a tougher nut to crack.”

“I hope she’ll come around.” That’s all I can think of to say. No one ever got Beth to do a thing she didn’t want to do.

Mitch shifts forward, pressing his palms to the cushions. “Well, I’d better be getting home. Barb doesn’t sleep when I’m not there. She’ll be worrying about Taylor.”

“Thanks for coming tonight and for… you know.”

He struggles to his feet and claps a hand on my upper arm. “The modern world is more and more of a mystery every day, but that’s always been the way for every aging generation.”

I walk him out, waving goodbye and closing and locking the door as he drives into the night. His relationship with Barb is what I want with Taylor; committed to facing all good and bad that life blends into a cocktail together with one heart.

I rest my hand on the cool wood and think again about my own words. It’ll be a relationship built on affection, respect, and love.

Suddenly, my actions feel clearly at odds.

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