“And you’re teaching my cousin how to clean stalls?” Shadow chuckled.
“Yep,” I confirm. “It’s something everyone who comes to the ranch should learn to do. It’s basic knowledge when you have a horse, they need tending to, this includes the not-so-fun parts.”
“If you say so, little mouse.” At the sound of his amusement, I close my eyes and savor his words. “I’ll be by later to see you.”
“I’ll be here.” I promised him this morning I wouldn’t go anywhere without him. Not that I was. I knew what he was dealing with, and I didn’t want him worrying about me. After what happened at the bar and what he said yesterday, I was doing everything I could to give him a sense of ease.
“Catch you later, little mouse. Don’t work too hard,” he says and disconnects before I can say something of the sort.
I liked that even though he had a lot on his plate, he took the time to connect with me, even though he’d told me yesterday he wanted me to text him periodically, even if he couldn’t return texts or call me.
It was sweet of him, and I love that he did it.
“So, you’re Shadow’s girlfriend?” Dylan asks as I shove my phone in my back pocket.
“I guess you can say that.” I smile in Dylan’s direction, seeing him dump more of the soiled wood shavings into the wheelbarrow.
This morning, I told my brother I’d handle the mucking out of the stalls today since the guys had their hands full. Today’s mucking, though, meant cleaning out the entirety of each stall and putting down new shavings. This was fine with me, and from the look on Dylan’s face, he didn’t seem to mind helping.
We’d already done two stalls and were on our third with three more to go.
“Are you okay with that?” I knew Dylan was close with Shadow.
Amelia, after her parents had died, lived with Shadow’s parents, him, and his sister, Taylor. Shadow hadn’t really talked about his sister, other than telling me she’d be home in a few weeks to visit their parents, and I’d see her then when we had dinner with his parents. He also shared the reason we hadn’t seen them yet is because his parents were on one of the many trips they take a year. They’re enjoying retirement, traveling all over.
“Why wouldn’t I be?” Dylan shrugs and scoops up more. His question breaks through my thoughts, and I have to admit it’s a good one. One I didn’t know how to answer. Before I can, Dylan continues, “If he’s happy, that’s cool.” He pauses for a beat. “My mom’s happy too.”
“That’s a good thing, isn’t it?”
“Well, yeah. My mom works hard and does everything for me. She tries to play it off like she’s okay, but until Maddox came around, I could tell she was lonely.” He scoops another shovel full of shavings. “She smiles more. I like that.”
That’s pretty amazing for this kid to say. His words hit me square in my chest, and my heart hurts at the fact I’ve missed so much of his life. I used to spend time with him and Amelia when he was a baby. Looking at him now and with what he said, I want to wrap him up in a hug.
But it’d probably freak him out, so I clear my throat and set my pitchfork to the side. “I better take this around the barn to dump. You get the next stall door open, and I’ll be right back.”
“All right,” he mutters, almost similar to how his uncle would say those two words.
Grabbing the handles of the wheelbarrow, I guide it out the back doors and toward the stockpile of manure. It’s not the best smell in the world, but it can be used again for other purposes on the ranch. Just like with cow manure.
As I start back toward the barn, I hear Dylan shouting and crying out for help. Dropping the handles of the barrow, I take off running to find two masked men hurting Dylan.
“Let me go,” Dylan shouts and tries to fight the man holding him captive.
“Let him go,” I scream. Not thinking better of it, I rush at them. When they don’t listen, I shout, “I said let him go.”
“How about we don’t?” one of them says, turning in my direction, moving to block me from seeing Dylan. Beady eyes stare at me through the mask. “How about we just take you both?”
“What?” I stammer, skidding to a halt out of his reach. To get to Dylan, I need to play this right. I need to protect him.
The guy holding onto Dylan chuckles. “I think that would be a good idea. Take them both. That’ll teach them all.”
“Look, if you want to take someone, take me. Leave Dylan alone. He’s just a kid. Leave him be. I’ll go with you. I swear I won’t fight you. Please.” To keep Dylan safe, I’ll do anything. I couldn’t bear to look into Amelia’s eyes if something happened to him. Let alone Shadow’s. This is his family. I don’t even want to think about how Maddox would handle it. He loves this kid. I could see it earlier when I was watching him teach Dylan to ride his horse, the way Granddaddy taught us.
The two men share a look before the one in front of me nods. “That works for us. Taking you will drive the message home deeper.”
“No, Della, Maddox will be back soon,” Dylan shouts, eyes wide with panic. I love that he trusts my brother so much, but I won’t risk him. Not if I can save him. I don’t know how long my brother will be.
What message?
