"Have you called the police for help?"
"Not even worth the phone call. Randall owns half of them." She let out a ragged breath. "I caused this fiasco by going along with what he told me instead of asking for help. I'm just getting what I deserve. I even had him served with divorce papers, and he just dismissed them as a lack of judgement on my part."
"Bullshit," Sarah responded. "You're a victim of domestic abuse and that man needs to be in prison. You didn't ask to be treated poorly, and no one deserves it."
"You don't understand. I have to talk to Ty and tell him the whole story. I was so stupid."
Sarah stood. "I agree with telling Ty. And if that monster has your son, I would suggest that you don't wait too long."
"Two days. He gave me two days to be home or there would be further consequences."
"Further?" Sarah asked. "Further than what?"
"I don't know, but I can guess. I brought Londyn here to be safe, but I have to go back for my boy."
"Talk to Ty first. There may be another option."
Valerie stared at her friend and felt every ounce of sadness in her body. "That's what I'm afraid of, but Ty is the only one who can help me."
"If you need me to watch Londyn while you talk to him, send her over to the bakery. I'll teach her how to make bread. Or if you want to punch something until your arms hurt, you come on over and no one gets hurt." She smiled at Valerie. "You have options here. If you go back alone, you have nothing."
Valerie thought about that all the way to the main lodge. She found Vinia in the kitchen, but no Londyn. "She got bored waiting for the cookies to bake, so she headed out to the barn to see the horses."
"She went by herself?" Valerie couldn't decide if she was impressed or petrified.
"She'll be fine out there. The horses are gentle, they're in their stalls, and no one is going to hurt her around here."
Valerie headed for the door. "I'll go see what she's doing."
"You've done a great job with that kid, you know."
"Thanks." Valerie paused with her hand on the door. "Thanks for everything."
With her heart in her throat, Valerie hurried toward the barn.
Chapter Ten: Chapter 10 Title
Tyson “Ty” Hale
Tyson stood immobilized as he listened to the little girl pour her heart out to Legacy. She sounded so matter-of-fact as she confessed a devastating story that he actually wanted to run out and buy her an elephant. Londyn had obviously been bottling up her feelings for some time because the horse was definitely getting an earful.
What he had learned so far was that her father was some kind of cold, abusive man who didn't like her much, and she had a brother that was hidden away. He couldn't figure out why Valerie would keep that detail hidden when it was obviously a very large part of what she was doing in Colorado in the first place. The more Londyn confessed, the more questions cropped up in Tyson's mind.
He peeked back over the stall gate to see if either of them had moved. They hadn't, so he pulled out his cell phone and, after making sure it was on silent, snuck a photo of the two cuddled together. He glanced at the photo on his display. It was definitely one that he was going to have printed and hung in his office. No one would ever believe that this little tiny girl had made his prize stallion more docile than a house cat.
He tried to sneak another peek, but this time, Legacy spotted him and snickered slightly. The big horse adjusted his position just enough that Londyn looked up and saw Tyson peering down at them.
She jumped up off the hay with panic on her face. "What are you doing here?"
"It's my time to feed the horses. I didn't even know you were out here."
She looked like she was about to burst into tears. "You didn't hear me, did you?"
He thought about denying the accusation, but he also wanted to ask her questions since she was in such a talkative mood. Plus, he didn't want to lie to her and lose her trust. "I heard some of it."
She rushed toward him. "You have to promise not to tell. Mommy likes to keep things secret, and she'd be upset if she knew that I told you. Well, that I told the horse but you heard me. I was just talking to him because I knew he couldn't tell anyone what I said."
"His name is Legacy."
