She wiped her eyes and turned on the light in the bathroom in time to watch the cockroaches skitter across the floor. “Shit,” she muttered as someone knocked on her door.
When she opened it, she saw Rachel with her hands on her hips and a pregnant Delaney ready to kill. Matthew and Jameson guarded the vehicles.
“Here’s your keys. Thank you for coming to get it,” she said, handing them to Rachel.
“I didn’t come here for the vehicle. We came here for you,” Rachel said, walking into the room and turning her nose up at it.
“You will not stay here,” she ordered. “You can’t put Tara in danger. This place is crawling with bad people and cock roaches.”
“I can’t afford anything else, right now. Tomorrow, I have to search for a job,” Riley explained to the two women.
Delaney shook her head, grabbed the unpacked pillowcase and Tara’s backpack, and walked outside.
“Wait, Delaney,” Riley shouted, attempting to take her things.
“No,” Rachel stopped her. “You have friends now, Riley. You don’t have to do this alone. Please don’t make us stay here watching over you until you come to your senses.”
Riley took one glance at the room and changed her mind. “I paid until the end of the week.”
“Matthew will handle it. Do you need anything from the bathroom?”
“I didn’t unpack. When I turned on the light, the floor moved,” she admitted.
Rachel took her by the arm and dragged her from the room, making it difficult for Riley to keep up. When they got to the truck, she turned to Matthew. “Riley paid for the week. Please make sure she gets her money back, or we’re calling the health department.”
“I’ll handle it once all three of you get into the truck and lock the doors,” Matthew said, holding it open for them.
They climbed inside, letting Delaney in the back with Riley. “What made you think this was a good idea? Why didn’t you call us?”
“I don’t know. When he started accusing me of things, I couldn’t believe what he said to me,” she said sadly. “I wanted to get out of there.”
Matthew returned to the truck and handed Riley her money. “If you do this again, you won’t have only the women upset with you.”
“I didn’t mean to worry you,” she said softly.
“You have no way to defend yourself,” Matthew chastised softly. “You can come to us at any time.”
“Thank you,” she murmured while Delaney took her hand and squeezed it.
“Rebecca will be at the house by the time we arrive. Don’t worry about anything. When we return, Matthew can go kick Garrett’s ass and then fire him,” Rachel insisted.
“I can’t fire him over a disagreement,” Matthew explained. “Garrett didn’t do anything wrong at work.”
“Then go kick his ass,” Rachel growled. “You can still do that, can’t you?”
“Riley, for what it’s worth, Julio and I saw Kenny speaking with Garrett. He seemed on edge, and I imagine he planted a seed of doubt,” Matthew explained.
“It explains why he acted the way he did, but it doesn’t excuse his behavior,” Riley said, crossing her arms.
“No. It doesn’t,” Matthew agreed. “Tonight, you’ll be our guest. Tomorrow, we have somewhere you can stay.” He held out the key to Rachel’s truck for one of the cowboys from the ranch to drive home.
“We’ll discuss it when we get home,” Rachel said, cutting Riley off from any arguing.
They dropped Delaney off, promising to call her tomorrow.When they pulled into the garage, Matthew took Riley’s things inside, leaving Rachel with Riley.
“When do you get your cast off?” she asked while she helped Riley up the stairs.
“I meant to call the doctor,” she lied, avoiding Rachel’s gaze.
