Page 133 of The Moments You Were Mine
Parker’s back stiffened, and he would have stormed back to Lorenzo if I hadn’t used all my strength to hold him back.
“You know a lot about what’s been happening for someone who hasn’t been involved,” I said.
“I always keep an eye on my family and my investments.”
“Except, I’m not your family, and you have nothing to do withmyranch,” I responded.
“Sadie and her children are my cousins. Your misfortunes fall on them and thus impacts me. Plus, Teddy Jones and I have a business arrangement he might be unable to repay if your ranch were to falter.”
I couldn’t hide the shock that hit me with the same force as the hoof I’d taken to the head. If I hadn’t been standing next to Parker, I might have hit the ground. Instead, Parker’s arm banded my waist and steadied me.
“What does Teddy have to do with you? With any of this?” I choked out.
Instead of answering me, Lorenzo waved as if dismissing us. “I’ll be in touch if I find out anyone in my family has helped Ike.”
The tremors running through me made it difficult to walk as Parker and I left the office. I started to comment, reeling from the news that somehow one of the men I’d trusted most had been working with Lorenzo, but Parker cut me off with a shake of his head. His eyes darted to the room’s corners, where cameras recorded our movements.
We didn’t talk again until we were in the SUV parked in the garage below Lorenzo’s building.
In my head, I kept replaying every moment with Teddy since I’d returned to the ranch at the end of May. His smiles and his kindness to Theo. His obvious infatuation with Mom. He’d been around me my whole life, and I’d never once felt threatened or uncomfortable. I was weirded out a bit by the idea of him and Mom hooking up, but that was the extent of discomfort I’d ever felt around the man.
“Teddy…” I said, shaking my head. “I can’t believe Teddy has been working somehow with Lorenzo. For what reason? God…he’s been cozying up to Mom. What did he hope to accomplish?”
“We’ll find out. I’ll call Sweeney and Cranky, and they’ll interrogate him while we’re on our way.”
My immediate reaction was horror at the idea of Teddy being hurt. Regardless of what Lorenzo had said, Teddy was part of the Harrington Ranch family and deserved to explain his actions. Hadn’t I wanted everyone to give me the benefit of the doubt when the evidence was stacking up against me? He deserved the same.
“You will not have him interrogated!” I exclaimed. “I’ll talk to him. Me. He’s my responsibility.”
Parker didn’t like my response. His face was grim, lips tight. “Fine. I’ll let you have the first shot, but if he doesn’t give us answers, or if we find he’s had anything to do with you being shot at and terrorized, I will make him suffer.”
It wasn’t a threat. It was another promise—one that returned the churning bile in my stomach. Ace and Ike were working together. They’d bonded over a mutual hatred of me and my father. My family. They wanted to destroy everything and everyone I loved.
Fear spiraled inside me as my hand settled on my stomach. I could run, keep me and the baby safe, but this would never be over until Ike and Ace were back behind bars. It hit me. No one could find Ike, but we didn’t need to find him. He would find me.
“I need to go home,” I told him. “I need to be at the ranch.”
Parker shook his head. “No. Not until we find out if Ike is still there.”
“Either take me to the airport so I can fly us home, or I’ll get out of the car and make my way there on my own.”
His jaw worked overtime, and his hands clutched the steering wheel until his knuckles turned white. “I need to see Theo first. I promised him we’d be back today.”
“He can’t come with us, Parker.” I shook my head. The fear I felt at the idea of Theo being close when Ace or Ike found me was beyond comprehension. It was torturous enough to imagine Parker being in my orbit when it happened, but at least he was trained to defend himself.
“I know,” Parker finally said on a heavy exhale. “I’ll leave him with Mom, but he needs to see me. He expected both his parents to return, and neither of them showed up …” Parker’s voice disappeared in a sea of emotions.
My heart constricted. I knew what it felt like to be abandoned. I’d felt it every time my dad had sent me back to Rivers without him and when Mom had disappeared behind her prescription drugs, leaving me to fend for myself. But Theo had experienced an even worse kind of abandonment. In dying, neither of his parents could repair the damage they’d left behind as my parents had tried to do over the years.
“You should stay with him,” I said quietly. “He can’t lose you too.”
Parker’s eyes narrowed at me, anger blazing. “If you think I’m letting you go back to the ranch and face Teddy and Ike—and whoever else is involved—on your own, you’ve lost your mind. Even if we hadn’t said ‘I do’ and agreed to face this world together, I’d be at your side. You’re not alone, goddamnit.”
I bit my cheek until I tasted bitter metallic on my tongue. I just wanted this to be over before anyone else got hurt. But Parker was right. I couldn’t face this alone. This wasn’t something I could shovel my way out of. I didn’t have the training or the knowledge to protect myself or the ranch from a man determined to destroy us.
A memory of Spencer hit me hard and fast. We’d been at the top of the mountain, looking down over the waterfall and the rivers as they twined toward the lake, and he’d said, ‘It’s a huge responsibility to care for this land, Fallon. Sometimes, you have to do the one thing you don’t want—you have to rely on someone else. Don’t make the same mistakes I have. Know when to bury your pride and ask for help.’
For most of my life, I’d been determined to be the only one to decide what happened to the ranch. I’d resented Mom as she’d made decisions and controlled what I thought wasn’t hers. I’d run to San Diego not only to honor my promise to my dad, but so I wouldn’t have to watch my mom handle the reins until I could inherit them. I was sure I’d do it better once it was mine. I thought I’d be able to shoulder the entire legacy as Spencer had—on my own. But I’d forgotten his message somewhere along the way.
