Page 3 of Shared on the Ranch

Impulsively, she grabbed onto the girl’s arm, giving it a shake. “You arenotdoomed, you hear me? I’m going to help you, but you have to tell me how.”

Betsy splayed her fingers and peeked out at her, sniffling. “The paddle. It’s kept in N-Nate’s o-office.”

We’re finally getting somewhere.“Okay. Where, exactly?”

Chyanne blocked out the noise of the other women’s protests and focused on the start-and-stop of Betsy’s guilty whispers. When the girl had finished, she clasped her hand and gave it a squeeze. “Listen to me, Betsy. Are you listening?”

The other girl, wide-eyed, nodded.

“You havenothingto feel guilty about. Understand? Nothing. I’m going to get that paddle and he’llneveruse it on you again.”

“B-but if you g-get ca-caught—”

She gave a single, firm shake of her head. “Not happening. Not today, padre.”

Betsy offered a tentative smile, the first she’d shown since their strange meeting, what, five minutes ago? Ten?

Whichever it had been, Chyanne took it as her sign to put words into action. Before anyone could say anything else, she whirled on her heel and flounced off in the direction Betsy had given her. As she walked, her mind was spinning.

What the hell kind of place did I come to? I never thought I’d see the day other women would defend abuse.That alone made her seethe with anger. But she couldn’t focus on that, she had to concentrate on what she’d promised.First, destroy the paddle, then call the police.Chyanne continued to make a mental list as she trudged inside the building and down a hallway. She moved quickly, slinking along the shadows cast by large oaks, and up to the office door.

She was fueled with righteous fury and wasn’t scared at all, even though Betsy’s warbled warning replayed in her head:If you get caught… if you get caught…

Chyanne shook it away irritably, determined to focus on what she needed to do. She was pressing herself against the wall, forcing her breath out slowly until her pulse calmed as much as it was going to. Then she peeked inside the window.

There was a man sitting at the desk, staring at a paper in front of him, but otherwise, the office was unoccupied.

Even though she’d kind of expected it, Chyanne still felt her heart seize in her chest.Shit. What now?

For the first time since embarking on this recon mission, she took a good look around. She had never heard of Discipline Ranch before seeing their want ad for a rodeo rider. And she wasn’t one for research, so she’d shot off an email to the boss, Nate, and when he’d asked for her resume, she’d sent it with crossed fingers and toes. Once he’d offered her the job, she’d booked her bus ticket without a second thought.

Now she was ruing her own ready-fire-aim instincts and thinking she should have done some investigating first. She tended to do things without thinking—it was kind of her MO. And now that she was here, promises having been made, she had to swallow the first beginnings of regret and figure out a way to keep her word.

Once she was inside, the first thing she noticed was that the hallway was not super well-lit. The second thing she noticed were barrels stacked artfully a couple of feet away. Almost as soon as a semblance of a plan formed in her mind, her feet were moving. She shoved the first barrel she could reach with all her might and like the fastest moving game of dominos she’d ever seen, they all tumbled after one another with a startlingly loud clanging crash. They were headed straight for the open door—that was the last thing she saw before she was back in motion, swinging herself up to safety and into an overhead cubby. As soon as she was in the small, cramped space she could see that it hadn’t been used much. Or, rather, she couldfeelthat as the rough spun silk of spider webs slinked across her skin.

I think I’m going to be sick.

Chyanne pressed a fist to her mouth and tried to focus on her breathing just as the office door swung open.

“What the hell was that?” the man asked no one, hands on his hips.

Her eyes narrowed as she looked at him.Is he the abuser?

“Damn Littles,” he muttered under his breath, but loud enough for her to hear from her hidden perch. Then he looked right to left.

Go left… go left…she prayed silently.

In the end, he must have heard her prayers because he took off running in that direction.

Exhaling shakily, Chyanne swung down, hitting the floor harder than she’d expected. Wincing, she darted inside the office through the door he’d left wide open.

Paddle… I’m looking for a paddle…

But as soon as she saw the wall behind the desk, she froze. Her mouth dropped open, and time just seemed to stop as her eyes took it all in. It was a bit… much. No, it was a bitcrazy.More than a bit, actually.

“Holy shit,” she breathed as she stared at the wall. There was a paddle, all right. In fact, there were more than a dozen paddles, and that wasn’t all. There were hairbrushes of all shapes and sizes. There were thick, polished rulers, and a long-handled crop with two flails artfully arranged to be a bridge above all the other implements.

What the actual…

---