Page 66 of Wild and Unruly
I shake my head, not thinking they would have. The board that represented his discipline was in his back pocket. “I’m not going to the board.”
Celina smirks, then frowns at the growing sound. “I have more people.”
My brows draw together as I watch her, the nervous way she keeps looking over her shoulder. “Is that why you’re here? I thought you trained with?—”
“I do, I promise. But I couldn’t let this go. I think you understand.”
I nod just as the footsteps pause near the door, and Celina doesn’t wait for me as she stomps out of the tack room.
Following quickly, I see Tommy has stopped right outside the door. Crap, did he hear us? I school my features, giving him a tense smile as we exit. “It really is a great tack room. Man, Tommy, how many tack rooms does this facility have?”
Tommy looks from Celina to me, his face a mask of indifference until he cracks one of his charming yet slightly terrifying smiles. “Five.”
“Wow.” I nod at Celina. “Thanks for showing me.”
“No problem.” She steps back and walks over to another of the trainers. He familiarly places a hand on her waist, glancing over to give a slight but noticeable glare to Tommy before looking at her again.
I wonder what’s happening there.
“So, back for some more, huh?”
I grip my shoulder bag tightly, wondering how I am going to get out of here before he notices the sweat stains that are definitely gracing the fabric underneath my armpits.
“Just some last-minute follow-up questions.”
“Ah.” He nods and looks to the people who don’t stop moving, who are working their butts off to make his facility what he wants it to be. They have to know what he does, what he’s been doing. Why don’t they fight against it? Do they honestly not care, or is he really that sneaky?
“I need to get back up the mountain, actually. I’m not big on driving in the dark.” I take a step away. Right as I think he’s going to let me go, his hand darts out, and he grabs my bicephard enough that I frown at him, making him release me immediately.
“Sorry.” He grins, the crow’s feet around his eyes that should be charming have me tensing, and he raises his hand in surrender. “I was just going to say, you should be careful around the Trevors family.”
I keep my face neutral even though I don’t understand what he’s saying at all. That family has been nothing but kind to me, and as far as I can tell, everyone else they come into contact with.
“Thanks, I haven’t had any issues.”
“Right, well, CT has a bit of a temper.” His gaze lowers, and I see him digging for something, maybe fake hurt. “We’ve had our issues in the past, and given that you’ve had enough hard times, I would hate to see you get hurt.”
The words, the phrases, and the way he’s looking at me have me taking a step back. He’s warning me away from the Trevorses, but right now, I feel it in my gut that the person I need to get away from is him.
Celina emailed me the video right away, and it confirmed everything that I needed to know. He was drugging those horses and still getting by with it. But then, Celina tacks on what is the most crucial part of evidence.
A statement from Eugene Waters, the man who has worked for the Smiths for the last fifteen years and was done with their bullshit.
I compile everything, and while the video is uploading to my email, I put the final touches on the Three Rivers article.
It fills me with a sense of relief and sadness knowing that my time with this family was coming to an end. I was sad to leave, but I was hopeful that I would be coming back often.
I tag the photo in a folder that I want to be the first photo in the article. Technically, I don’t get a say, but sometimes they use my suggestions.
It was of CT and Dani, smiling at each other and holding hands atop the backs of their horses with the ranch behind them, right at sunset.
I click send on both pieces with a smile on my face.
I was done.
And because I wasn’t due in Kentucky until next Tuesday, I could take my last few days here to enjoy it with Stetson.
Taking my truck into town, I stop at the small-town bakery and make my way inside. I was going to get a bunch of goodies to take to the ranch to celebrate the end of the article and thank the family for letting me step into their lives for a few weeks.
