Page 33 of Saving Jared

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"I didn’t thinkI hit your nose."

Jared grinned over at Darin wiping down the table as he dumped the dustpan full of food and pieces of dishes in the garbage can. He’d noticed the bruising alongside his nose and a little under one eye when he’d gone in search of Willa after waking up. He’d been disappointed to find his bed empty, but he’d understood her need for discretion. Although that hadn’t really worked out for either of them.

"You didn’t. The back of Willa’s head did."

"Do I want to know?" Darin’s grimace was almost comical.

"I found her asleep last night here at the table and thought I’d wake her up. I ended up startling her instead."

"She does have a hard head." Darin grinned. "In more ways than one."

"She might have mentioned she’d been told that." Jared glanced around and moved closer to Darin, saying low, "I want you to know how amazing I think Willa is. She’s smart, brave, and kindhearted. You, Ben, and Eric raised her right."

"Thank you." Darin nodded, then stepped closer—close enough Jared could see his reflection in the other man’s irises. "We think… No, we know she’s all of that and more. And we’re going to trust her. We’re going to trust you." A certainty filled Darin’s gaze. "You know any one of us would give our lives for her." Jared nodded, having a feeling he knew where this was going. "We’d also kill for her."

"I wouldn’t expect anything less."

"So, we understand each other."

"We do."

And with that out of the way, they and the rest of their siblings finished putting the kitchen back in order. Not long afterward, the Taggert brothers left to help Eric get squared away and ready for the rodeo.

He needed to head over to the complex himself, but not for another couple of hours. He’d hired the best to get it set up and they’d been working on it since last Saturday to have it ready. He had every confidence everything would be exactly as it should be.

"I’ve got more media crap to handle about the Fremonts and tomorrow’s dinner," Jude groused, leaving the kitchen. Kinsley followed after him, calling, "Hey, wait up." He had a feeling the asshat would be well-advised to watch his step with his little sister. He frowned.

It might be better if he stopped thinking of him by that name.

A few minutes later, Jared had gotten through the main house. The family felt it was good for the guests to see them in it, even though it wasn’t actually the part they lived in. Then he made his way out the front door and jogged down the front steps off the veranda spanning the front of the house. He waved at a few of the guests taking advantage of porch swings and rocking chairs—some playing checkers—and headed toward the stables with a sense of anticipation.

Willa would be back soon and hopefully they’d find some time to themselves. He was far from done with learning everything about her. That thought put a little extra something in his steps as he crossed the front driveway, then took the path going to the outlying guest accommodations.

"How’s it going, Joe," he called out to his hand standing just inside the guest stables. Joe didn’t move—his body tense. Something was wrong, and it pushed Jared to pick up his pace. Then he was racing across the yard when Joe’s horrified expression lifted and met his.

Jared slid to a stop inside the stable door and grabbed hold of Joe’s shoulders. "What’s happened?" Joe slowly turned his head toward the open stall where Bobby Arnold lay sprawled out in the hay, his lip bloodied.

"I’m sorry, Mr. McComb. I didn’t want to hit him, but he was kicking Wendy." Jared’s attention flew to the gentle mare housed in the stall, standing well away from the young man groaning on the ground. "And he was about to hit her with a crop. So, I told him to stop."

From the sound of things, Bobby Arnold should count himself fortunate it wasn’t him or Jude—hell, Kinsley—who had found him abusing the horse. "Go, on," Jared told him, holding onto his need to pick the other young man up and shake him.

"He laughed and said his family paid to do whatever they wanted to. And then he… God, help me, Mr. McComb, when he reared back to hit her with that crop, I saw red. The next thing I knew he was on the ground." Joe hung his head and kicked at the straw along the floor. "I’ll pack my things."

"Why would you do that?"

Joe’s surprised gaze lifted to his. "I’m not fired?"

"No."

"But it’s his word against mine."

"I’m sure we’ve got what happened recorded," Jared said, pointing to the security camera over his head, something that seemed to visibly take a weight off his hand’s shoulders. "But what you can do for me is go find Russ and tell him what happened and that he should go to the Arnold’s cabin and wait for my brother. I’ll call Jude and tell him to meet Russ there."

Jared’s eyes narrowed on their now former guest sitting up and wiping a hand over his mouth as Joe rushed from the stable. The young man’s scowling gaze lifted to where Jared stood, his eyes going round.

"Stand up," Jared commanded him.

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