Riley sucked in her breath and counted to ten, recalling her teen years. “Saying hurtful things out of anger can’t be undone. Choose your words carefully. You never know who you’ll hurt or how deeply.”
“You’re right. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to say it. It’s nice to have someone my age to talk to, and she knows how to put on makeup without it appearing gaudy. Rachel taught her. We made friendship bracelets and Matthew said we can visit anytime and take the horses for a ride. I haven’t ridden since forever,” Tara said. “Will you at least consider it?”
Riley’s mouth firmed. “Number one, we have no phones. Two, I’ve only met her mom once. Three, we don’t have money to spend on makeup and stuff. Four?—”
“She’ll think about it,” Garrett interrupted, winking at Tara. “What your sister means to say is we need to work out the details. If we can put our heads together, we might be able to solve all those issues.”
Riley shot him with a heated glare. “I’m not risking her?—”
“She’s not risking you not having your homework done tonight after spending time with your friend. Maybe you need to review the notes for your test again,” he suggested, sending Tara a head jerk toward her room.
“Yeah, I guess reviewing it one more time won’t hurt,” she said, before turning toward the bedroom. “Pleaseconsider it. She’s told me all about it, and I want to see it in person.”
Riley waited until the door closed before sending him a scathing look. “You have no right to promise her things.”
“You’re right. Do you remember what it’s like at her age? Did you want to hang around your parental figures?” Garrett asked.
“It still doesn’t solve the other—” Garrett put a finger to her lips, stopping her in her tracks.
“You can’t keep her in a bubble. Why don’t we work on solving the problems instead of listing them?”
Riley crossed her arms and glared at him.
“I know I overstepped. You’ve sacrificed a lot for her, and you’ve remained a team the whole time. Something tells me you’ve given up your life for her. Do you think your mom wanted you to stick together until you’re two little old ladies?”
“No,” she grudgingly admitted.
“Let’s work this out one step at a time,” he said. “Number one, we can get you a couple of burner cells you can prepay the minutes on. They’re cheap, and when you’re done, you can throw them away. Two, we can send someone to watch over her as a compromise. At the first sign of trouble, we’ll return home. I’ll ask Matthew or Julio if they can share their numbers with you. Did you get Rebecca or Rachel’s cell numbers?”
“I don’t have a phone. Why bother?” she said, lying back against the couch and yawning.
“We already solved this issue. Tomorrow, I’ll pick up the phones and ask them to text you,” he replied. “Rachel gave each of the girls a small makeup bag, and I heard her telling Amy she gave them lip gloss, mascara, and blush. Tara’s excited about it. Don’t take it away from her.”
“I can keep Amy company on Saturday, I guess,” she said, mulling it over.
“No. You’re attending the horse sale in Hondo. I need help picking out a new horse and a couple for the ranch,” he insisted.
Riley brightened and then slumped. “I can’t leave her alone.”
“If I can arrange for her to remain safe, will you think about it?”
Riley bit her lip and nodded.
“It’s settled. Let me take our plates to the kitchen, and we can finish the show,” Garrett said, picking up their dirty dishes and returning to the kitchen. When he didn’t hear her click the TV off pause, he saw her pick up the pen from her little makeshift tray. She took a piece of paper from her pocket and wrote something before slipping it back inside her dress. What did Riley hide? Hoping he didn’t overstep, Garrett wanted Riley to have a life as much as she fought for Tara to have one.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
Kenny raged at his men. “What the hell do you mean you can’t find her? How the hell did she get loose?”
“I don’t know, boss,” Stitch whined. “I woke up to the door wide open and her gone,” he explained. “Somebody planned it. Roadrunner claimed a man came to the bar and knew him from Three Rivers. He cleared it with one of our men who worked with Jade. When he went outside, he said two men attacked him. Roadrunner woke up in the bushes without his leathers.”
“No one gets a piece of ass until they find those two women, and I want to know where the fuck Garrett Johnson disappeared to without a trace,” Kenny demanded. “Snake said you all were a useless bunch, and I’m starting to believe him.”
“What about the money?” Bernice asked in her high-pitched tone. “Can’t you have one of them pretend to be Garrett and withdraw the funds?”
“Shut the hell up, Bernice,” he growled. “I’m tired of hearing you whine nonstop. If you hadn’t killed the lawyer,we might’ve gotten the information from him. His damn computer has all kinds of security on it.”
“You’re blaming me?” she screeched. “I raised the brat, and the thankless shit ensured the lawyer told me nothing. I didn’t think he’d die so quickly. It’s not like we haven’t waterboarded people before.”
