Page 48 of Rusty

But Janice stood her ground, her resolve unyielding. "I'd rather have nothing and be true to myself than live a lie for the rest of my life. I won't let you dictate who I am or what makes me happy."

The line went silent, the tension palpable even through the phone. Janice's hand trembled slightly as she lowered it from her ear, her heart racing with a mix of fear and empowerment.

As she hung up the phone, a sense of liberation washed over her, mingling with the lingering traces of apprehension. She had never stood up to her father like that before. It wasexhilarating.

Taking a deep breath to steady herself, Janice looked around the dimly lit cabin, her gaze settling on Little Miss Giggles and Little Miss Hug perched on the bed. Despite the turmoil churning inside her, she felt a flicker of hope kindling in her chest.

“Guess I’m not so stupid anymore,” she said to her toys smiling.

And part of not being stupid involved facing up to facts.

She was in love with Rusty Maguire.

She was a strong and capable woman.

She was a sweet and kind Little with a great laugh.

She was learning to be the world’s greatest horse physiotherapist!

And finally, she was going to make things right. Somehow.

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

Rusty

Under the vast, star-studdedsky, Rusty Maguire sat alone on the porch of his ranch cabin. The weight of longing for Janice gnawed at his insides, an incessant ache that refused to subside. Right now, he was trying to hide that ache with a big bottle of whiskey, but it wasn’t helping much.

He had ruined everything. He couldn't help but reflect on his attempts to set things right with her father, Angus. He’d told Angus that he and Janice were no longer together, hoping it would be enough. But Angus's response was cold and unforgiving: "It's too late, Maguire. Don't call again."

Rusty clenched his fists, feeling the burden of guilt heavier than ever before. In the quiet darkness, he longed for the warmth of Janice's touch, the sound of her laughter, the comfort of her presence. He longed to hear her call him “Daddy” just one more time.

Rusty became aware of a silhouette walking toward him in the darkness. He knew who it was immediately: his brother Ethan. He’d recognize that determined stride anywhere.

"Rusty,” Ethan called out, “I've got some bad news."

"Can't be worse than what I'm already dealing with," Rusty replied, his voice cracking.

"Angus Jameson, that snake, kicked our cousins off our land in Colorado," Ethan said solemnly, anger simmering beneath his words. "He's claiming it as his own now."

Rusty clenched his jaw. He’d seen this coming and had been dreading it. “Fuck.”

"He told them it was all your fault. Any idea what he might be talkin’ about?"

Rusty sighed. “Yes,” he said. “I do.”

Ethan spat at the ground. “Care to share, brother?”

Rusty stood up, a little wobbly on his feet.

“You drunk?” Ethan asked.

“Not drunk enough,” said Rusty bitterly. “I fucked up. I called Angus Jameson to try to set things straight. I wanted him to see sense about me and Janice. I'm sorry.”

“But you and Janice are ancient history . . . aren’t you?”

Rusty took another swig of whiskey straight out of the bottle. It burned. “We kinda got back together for a while. Ended it a few days ago. Fucked it up again, didn’t I?”

Ethan surprised Rusty by putting a hand on his shoulder. “Brother, calling Angus was the right thing to do. You should’ve stood up to him a long time ago. I admire you for trying. But you’re gonna have to try to sort this mess out. We can’t lose the ranch. Our cousins deserve to live on that land.”

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