Page 85 of Knot Her Cowboys
I wasn’t so sure that was true, but I felt like I was going to suffocate if I stayed in this room where her scent lingered. My breath shuddered when I drew it in, but I put on a brave face. Cash would know it was a lie. My panic spiral was probably like an air raid siren in the bond for him, and I knew distance wouldn’t change that, but I needed it anyway.
He cupped my cheeks and kissed my forehead. “I love you so fucking much. I’ll be there as quickly as I can.”
I lifted my face, basking in the warmth of him. “I love you, too.”
“I’m also going to call around the ranch and get the staff on alert,” Cash promised. “The more eyes, the better, I think.”
Nodding, I slipped away to visit Bluebell for a few minutes and wrapped my arms around myself so my chest didn’t feel like it was going to fly apart any second. Buttons and her baby were enjoying some sunshine in the small corral attached to the barn.
I stared blankly at Bluebell, the little sweetie flinging herself in my direction for some attention. “Hi there, angel baby.”
Bluebell was looking much more like a proper horse today, with glossy fur shining in the sun, and her horrible demon-finger hooves were just regular hooves now from all her scamperingaround. I perched on the fence, hooking my legs over the bottom board and leaning over a higher one, and she thrust her little head into my hands.
Buttons came over to sniff at me, unwilling to let her baby get all the attention. With a hand on each of them, I used the smooth motions of petting them to start getting my heart under control.
Fucking Darlene.
Not going to see her when I had her address should’ve been a crystal-clear message, but then she’d never been good at taking no for an answer. My sperm donor of a father probably regretted getting anywhere near her. Unfortunately for me, his shit choices meant we were both stuck with Darlene.
Bluebell was living her best life, wiggling her head this way and that so I found all the right spots.
Buttons shifted nervously, ears pinning back.
“What’s wrong, sweet girl?”
A sharp pain in my scalp had me shrieking, careening backward from the yank on my hair. Splinters drove into my legs where I slid off the fence and I crashed hard against the ground, knocking the wind out of me.
Darlene was on me like a barnacle. “You stupid little whore. You think you can hide from me?”
I flailed my hands out, trying to push her away, but she had a two-handed grip on my hair so tight my eyes watered. “Mama, stop!”
“Mama, stop,” she mocked. “I’ll stop when you quit being a useless cunt and bond one of the Decker boys like you were supposed to. Tired of you making my life shit ’cause you won’t do what you’re told.”
I bucked hard and tried to turn to bite her wrist, but she swung her arm back and clocked me across the face so hard my ears rang. Her wildberry omega scent was sour in my nose, and the scent of her favorite cigarettes clung to her like a second skin,turning my stomach and ensuring my brain was a tangled mass of panic as it dredged up years of abuse.
When I tried to scream, she slammed her hand over my mouth, blocking the sound and my air intake. I writhed like my life depended on it because that was always how it felt when I was dealing with her.
“Darrell said he’d still take you.”
A fresh bolt of panic shot through my stomach.
“Don’t be such an ungrateful bitch,” Darlene hissed. “They’ll welcome us back if you stop fucking running.”
I wrenched her hand away to suck in a sharp breath and scream out a “NO!”
“Such a goddamn baby. Who cares if he’s got a face like a foot when he’s next in line for power? You could give us that.”
I wrestled my way onto my belly, trying to scramble away but she crawled right onto my back, knees pinning my shoulders so I could hardly breathe, her hand yanking my hair.
Black spots danced in my vision.
The cock of a shotgun had Darlene freezing.
Cooper stepped around where I could see him, shotgun barrel carefully aimed. “Mind yourself, Darlene. You know what we do to predators around here.”
“You wouldn’t shoot me,” she hissed.
Cooper didn’t move an inch. “I don’t think you want to test what I’ll do when it comes to your daughter. I couldn’t do anything as a kid, but I’ve got a lot of land and alotof gullies where a body could disappear. Now, why don’t you let Riley go and step the fuck back.”
